The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Thursday dismissed director Najmul Islam following protests by players ahead of Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) matches over his comments against the country’s cricketers, The star of the day reported.
The first BPL match scheduled for today at 1 pm local time was delayed as Chattogram Royals and Noakhali Express players did not turn up at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium for the match, according to The star of the day.
Islam received a show cause notice from the BCB hours before the start of the match. However, the Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) has called for a nationwide boycott of all forms of cricket unless Islam resigns.
In a press release issued 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 interests of the organization”, and would come into effect immediately. The star of the day reported.
“The decision has been taken in accordance with the authority vested in the President of the BCB under Article 31 of the Constitution of the BCB and is aimed at ensuring the continued and efficient functioning of the affairs of the Board,” the statement said.
“The Council remains fully committed to defending the honor and dignity of all actors within its jurisdiction.
“In this regard, the BCB hopes that all cricketers will continue to demonstrate the highest standards of professionalism and dedication for the betterment of cricket in Bangladesh, and will do their utmost to ensure continued participation in the Bangladesh Premier League,” it added.
Until further notice, Bulbul will serve as acting chairman of the finance committee over which Islam chaired.
Islam had said on Wednesday evening that he believed domestic cricketers should be asked to return the “millions and millions of taka” that the BCB spends on them, ESPN Cricinfo reported.
The BCB officially distanced itself from Islam’s comments and expressed its “sincere regrets 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 person whose conduct or comments demonstrate disrespect to cricketers or undermine the reputation and integrity of Bangladesh cricket,” the board said in a statement. 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 headquarters in Dhaka.
“The remark made by BCB director (Najmul Islam) has greatly hurt the cricket fraternity, and it is not acceptable,” Mithun told reporters on Wednesday evening.
“We demand his resignation. If he does not resign before tomorrow’s match, we will announce a boycott of all cricket, starting from the BPL matches tomorrow (Thursday).”
According to The star of the dayNajmul said the board owed no compensation to the players if Bangladesh missed the next World Cup, arguing that the BCB had 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 that they have not been able to achieve anything, anywhere,” The star of the day quoted Islam as saying.
“Have we won a single world trophy so far? Then we could have said every time you failed to perform, whatever we spent on you, now we will take it back. Give it back to us,” Islam said.
Islam’s comments come amid the standoff between Bangladesh and the International Cricket Council (ICC) over its refusal to travel to India for next month’s T20 World Cup.
Bangladesh announcement on January 4, he would not play his T20 World Cup matches in India after his 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 move its matches to Sri Lanka, which is co-hosting the tournament from February 7.
Bangladesh, led by Litton Das, is placed ninth in the ICC T20 rankings. They played in all nine editions of the tournament, but never qualified for the semi-finals.
