Cricketers rally behind Tamim after BCB director’s remarks

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) finance committee chairman M Najmul Islam has come under heavy criticism after labelling former captain Tamim Iqbal an “Indian agent” in a social media post.

The remark followed Tamim’s appearance at an event a day earlier, where he suggested that the BCB should consider all aspects before deciding not to send the national team to India for the T20 World Cup. Tamim also noted that, as a significant portion of the board’s revenue comes from the ICC, any decision should prioritise what is best for the long-term future of Bangladesh cricket.

Sharing a clip of Tamim’s comments on Facebook, Najmul wrote that the country had now “witnessed the emergence of another proven Indian agent”.

The post sparked immediate backlash from within the cricketing community. Several cricketers, including former Test captain Mominul Haque and current Test skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto, expressed their displeasure on social media. Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam said he was “shocked” by the choice of words used by the BCB director.

Amid growing criticism, Najmul later issued another social media post, claiming that while the sports adviser had suggested dialogue with the ICC to move Bangladesh’s World Cup fixtures from India to Sri Lanka, someone who had scored over 15,000 international runs for Bangladesh was now “batting for India”. He added that the remarks reflected his personal opinion.

The Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) on Friday issued a statement demanding a public apology from the director, confirming that it had written to the BCB president and was seeking appropriate action.

“A comment made by BCB director M Najmul Islam regarding former national captain Tamim Iqbal has come to the attention of the Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB). We are stunned, shocked and outraged by it,” the statement read.

“Such a remark by a board official about the most successful opener in Bangladesh’s history, who represented the country for 16 years, is utterly condemnable. Not only because it concerns a player like Tamim, but because such comments about any cricketer are unacceptable and insulting to the entire cricketing community.”

“When a responsible board director makes such remarks on a public platform, it raises serious questions about professionalism, ethics and the code of conduct of BCB officials,” the statement added.

CWAB president Mohammad Mithun, along with several other cricketers, later addressed the issue at a press conference in Sylhet, where he strongly criticised the comments and stressed that Bangladesh should not miss out on participating in the World Cup.

“I want the Bangladesh team to play the World Cup. Why would players miss out on such a big event?” Mithun said. “The responsibility lies with the cricket board to negotiate and make arrangements so the players can participate, while ensuring their safety and security.”

Mithun further remarked that cricket was increasingly being dragged into politics, something he felt should not happen.

Meanwhile, the BCB is awaiting a response from the ICC to a letter sent on Thursday, in which the board outlined its security concerns over sending the team to India.