Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) continues to face flak after finance committee chairman M Nazmul Islam accused the former national captain Tamim Iqbal of being an “Indian agent.” Islam made a sweeping statement after Tamim urged the cricket body to be pragmatic and prioritise cricket above everything else before taking the final call on the country’s participation in the T20 World Cup. It is worth mentioning that the BCB has already written to the ICC, asking the body to shift its T20 World Cup matches from India to Sri Lanka.
The relations between India and Bangladesh are at an all-time low, and tensions have escalated after pacer Mustafizur Rahman was released by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) due to recent developments.
Once Tamim urged the BCB to take everything into account before deciding on the team’s participation in the World Cup, Islam took to Facebook to criticise Tamim, calling him an “Indian agent.”
“This time, the people of Bangladesh witnessed, with their own eyes, the emergence of yet another proven Indian agent,” he wrote on Facebook.
Bangladesh Test captain Najmul Hossain Shanto reacted to the recent development, calling out a BCB official for being disrespectful towards Tamim, who has led Bangladesh in the past.
‘We expect respect’
While speaking to Cricbuzz, Shanto said that he was deeply hurt by the remark directed towards Tamim, saying cricketers just expect respect, and the official has let down every cricketer in the country.
“Very sad, very sad because such comments were made about a cricketer, a former captain, and in my opinion, one of Bangladesh’s most successful cricketers whom we grew up watching. As players, we expect respect – whether someone is a former captain, a regular player, successful or not. At the end of the day, a cricketer hopes for respect,” said the Test captain.
“What hurts most is that the cricket board is supposed to be our guardian. We expect them to protect us. As a player, I cannot accept such a comment. Parents should correct you at home, not in front of everyone. So such a comment from someone who is supposed to be our guardian is very difficult to accept. I completely reject it as a player,” he added.
Once Najmul started to face criticism from all corners, he came up with another Facebook post, saying whatever he said was in an individual capacity and it does not echo the sentiments of the entire BCB.
“When the Bangladesh cricket team is facing security risks in India over the Mustafizur issue, the Honourable Sports Adviser, having anticipated the matter, instructed the BCB to discuss with the ICC the relocation of Bangladesh’s matches in the upcoming T20 World Cup from India to Sri Lanka. Even the Honourable Foreign Affairs Adviser supported the decision of the Sports Adviser,” he wrote.
“In such a situation, going against the sentiment of the people of the country, a legendary cricketer who scored 15,000 runs in international cricket wearing the Bangladesh jersey, is now batting in favour of India. This is purely my personal opinion. Please do not take this comment in any other way,” he added.
