The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Thursday removed director Najmul Islam following protests from cricketers ahead of Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) matches over comments against the country’s cricketers made by Islam on Wednesday, The Daily Star reported.
The first BPL match scheduled for 1pm local time today was delayed as players from Chattogram Royals and Noakhali Express did not show up at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium for the game, according to The Daily Star.
Islam was handed a show-cause notice by the BCB a few hours before the match was set to begin. However, the Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) had called for a nationwide boycott on all forms of cricket unless Islam tenders his resignation.
In a media release today, the BCB said the decision to remove Islam was taken by president Aminul Islam Bulbul “following a review of recent developments and in the best interest of the organisation”, and that it would come into effect immediately, The Daily Star reported.
“The decision has been taken in accordance with the authority vested in the BCB President under Article 31 of the BCB Constitution and is aimed at ensuring the continued smooth and effective functioning of the Board’s affairs,” the statement read.
“The Board remains fully committed to upholding the honour and dignity of all players under its jurisdiction.
“In this regard, the BCB hopes that all cricketers will continue to display the highest standards of professionalism and dedication to the betterment of Bangladesh cricket, and will do their utmost to ensure continued participation in the Bangladesh Premier League,” it added.
Until further notice, Bulbul will serve as the acting chairman of the finance committee that Islam was the chair of.
Islam had said on Wednesday night that he believes national cricketers should be asked to return the “crores and crores of taka” that the BCB spends on them, ESPN Cricinfo reported.
The BCB officially distanced itself from Islam’s comments and expressed its “sincere regret for remarks that may be deemed inappropriate, offensive, or hurtful.
“The Bangladesh Cricket Board also makes it clear that it will take appropriate disciplinary action against any individual whose conduct or comments show disrespect towards cricketers or cause harm to the reputation and integrity of Bangladesh cricket,” the board said in a statement, per Cricinfo.
The boycott was proposed by Mohammad Mithun, president of the Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB), hours after Islam’s press conference at the BCB’s headquarters in Dhaka.
“The remark made by the BCB director [Najmul Islam] has hurt the cricket fraternity greatly, and it’s not acceptable,” Mithun told reporters on Wednesday evening.
“We demand his resignation. If he doesn’t resign before tomorrow’s match, we will announce a boycott of all cricket, starting from the BPL matches tomorrow (Thursday).”
According to The Daily Star, Najmul said the board owes no compensation to players if Bangladesh miss the upcoming world cup, arguing that the BCB has never sought refunds from cricketers after poor performances at global events.
“The question [of compensation] does not even arise. We have invested so much [in] them, they haven’t been able to achieve anything, anywhere,” The Daily Star quoted Islam as saying.
“Have we won a single global trophy till now? Then we could’ve said every time, you have failed to perform, whatever we have spent on you, now we will take it back. Return it to us,” Islam said.
Islam’s comments came amid Bangladesh’s standoff with the International Cricket Council (ICC) over its refusal to travel to India for next month’s T20 World Cup.
Bangladesh announced on Jan 4 that it would not play its T20 World Cup matches in India after its player Mustafizur Rahman was released by his Indian Premier League (IPL) team amid growing tensions between the two countries. Subsequently, Bangladesh “formally requested” the ICC to shift their games to Sri Lanka, which is co-hosting the tournament beginning February 7.
Bangladesh, led by Litton Das, are placed ninth in the ICC T20 rankings. They have played all nine editions of the tournament, but have never qualified for the semi-finals.
