ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
Dhaka, Feb 21: Bangladesh assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin has hit out at former sports adviser Asif Nazrul, alleging that he misrepresented facts and shifted his position regarding the national team’s participation in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
Salahuddin added that it was extremely difficult for the players to come to terms with their exclusion from the tournament, claiming that two members of the squad were left mentally shattered.
Nazrul, who served under Bangladesh’s former interim leader Muhammad Yunus, had initially maintained that the decision not to travel to India due to security concerns was taken by the government.
However, shortly before stepping down from his post, he stated that the call had been made by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the players.
“He told such blatant lies,” Salahuddin told reporters.
“I am a teacher myself, and teachers generally lie a bit less. That he would say such lies so openly – I honestly can’t even imagine it. How will I even show my face in front of the boys? He took such a U-turn.” Salahuddin suggested the players had no role in the decision-making process.
“He is a teacher at Dhaka University. A person from the highest educational institution of my country saying such lies – we can’t accept this. How can we accept this? He said one thing earlier and later took a U-turn,” he added.
Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland in the tournament after they refused to travel to India for their games.
The BCB had proposed relocating Bangladesh’s matches in India to co-hosts Sri Lanka, but the ICC rejected the request and opted to replace the team instead.
Salahuddin added that the players were devastated to know about the T20 World Cup exclusion.
“Look, when a boy goes to play in a World Cup, he carries his dream – his 27-year-old dream with him. You destroy that dream in one second,” said Salahuddin.
“Fine, if it’s a country’s decision taken for national reasons, they will sacrifice for the country. But if you talk about loss, I will talk only about personal loss. Personally, you completely ended a boy’s dream. I know that two of my players went into coma mentally for five days, completely lost,” Mohammad Salahuddin added. (PTI)
