Bangladesh players want Nazmul Islam’s public apology to end boycott:BCB fired Nazmul after cricketers refused to play BPL

Bangladesh cricket have been hit by a major crisis ahead of the T20 World Cup after the players boycotted all cricketing activities in protest against director Nazmul Islam. The BCB (Bangladesh Cricket Board) director had come under fire after he made controversial remarks on the players amid the ongoing controversy regarding the T20 World Cup venue. The CWAB (Cricket Welfare Association of Bangladesh) had held a press conference on 15 January, explaining their stance and the BCB eventually sacked Nazmul from his role as finance committee head after the cricketers boycotted the BPL and Dhaka Cricket League. The players have now said that they are ready to end the boycott, only if Nazmul apologised. Bangladesh cricketers want Nazmul Islam to apologise publicly According to ESPNCricinfo, the Bangladesh cricketers want BCB to remove Islam from his role as a director of the board as well and seek a public apology from him. The report states that a phone call between BCB president Aminul Islam Bulbul and the CWAB took place. In the phone call, the BCB chief informed the players that Nazmul was ready to make an apology, but only in a ‘closed-door meeting’. The CWAB subsequently issued a statement welcoming the BCB’s call to remove Nazmul from role of finance head. However, they also made it clear that a public apology from Nazmul was absolutely necessary for the boycott to end. “We welcome the decision to remove BCB director M Nazmul Islam from the board’s finance committee. Since he has been given a showcause notice and since the BCB has asked for time due to procedural reasons regarding his directorship, we want to give him that time. However, we hope that the process will continue. “In addition, since Director M Nazmul Islam has publicly spoken insulting words about the cricketers, we hope that he will publicly apologise. We have informed the BCB that we are ready to return to the game from Friday if he publicly apologises and the process for his directorship is ongoing,” the statement said. Also read: Bangladesh plan T20 World Cup boycott, won’t play in India: BCB director Asif Akbar says board firm on relocation stance Why do Bangladesh players want Nazmul Islam to apologise? Uncertainty has been brewing over Bangladesh’s participation in the T20 World Cup in India after the BCB said that they would not visit the neighbouring country, citing security reasons, after Mustafizur Rahman’s IPL exclusion. Former Bangladesh cricketer Tamim Iqbal had reacted to this controversy and called for dialogue to end the standoff. However, Nazmul subsequently called Tamim an ‘Indian agent’ and later, said that the BCB was not responsible to compensate the players if they missed the T20 World Cup. “The question [of compensation] does not even arise. We have invested so much in them, they haven’t been able to achieve anything, anywhere. 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,” he had said. Also read: Fans vandalise property outside Mirpur Stadium after BPL match postponed: BCB director Nazmul Islam’s sacking sparks outrage among cricket enthusiasts
BPL matches rescheduled After the players boycotted all cricket on 15 January, two BPL matches scheduled for the day- Chattogram Royals vs Noakhali Express and Rajshahi Warriors vs Sylhet Titans were rescheduled for 16 January. Subsequently, the games slated to be held on 16 January have been pushed by a day. The Eliminator and Qualifier 1 will now be played on 20 January, followed by Qualifier 2 a day later. The BPL final is on 23 January, with the next day kept as a reserve day.