“Asif Nazrul Lied” Says Angry Coach Salahuddin

Sports Desk

Bangladesh national team senior assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin has recently strongly criticized former youth and sports advisor Asif Nazrul for his lies. He also said that the players were mentally devastated after the government decided not to send the Bangladesh team to play in the T20 World Cup. According to Salahuddin, Asif Nazrul is a brazen liar, which is shameful as a university teacher.

The controversy began in early February, when Nazrul said that the decision not to play the World Cup in India was a strict government directive for security reasons. However, on February 10, he changed his position and described the matter as one that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the players themselves had taken and accepted the ‘sacrifice’ in the interest of national dignity.

This apparent ‘U-turn’ has drawn widespread criticism in cricket circles. Players have privately expressed anger at being seen as part of a decision they had no say in.
Salahuddin, however, says the damage has already been done. Speaking to reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, Salahuddin said:

“He lied so brazenly. I can’t believe someone would lie like that on a cliff.”

He expressed deep anger at how hurt and disappointed the players were with such contradictory explanations.

He further added,

“I am a teacher myself; teachers usually lie a little less. He would lie so openly—I honestly can’t imagine it. How can I show my face in front of the boys? He is a teacher at Dhaka University. A man from the highest institution in my country is telling such a lie—we cannot accept it. How can we accept it? He first said one thing and then took a U-turn.”

Salahuddin said that Bangladesh cricketers were looking forward to playing the World Cup in India. The decision caused the cricketers to be mentally broken. He said, ‘When a boy goes to play in the World Cup, he takes his dream—his 27-year dream is there. You destroy that dream in a second. Okay, if it is a decision of the country taken for national reasons, then they will sacrifice for the country. But if you talk about losses, I will only talk about personal losses.’

The coach revealed that the two players were devastated immediately after the incident, “I know two of my players went into a kind of coma—mentally—for five days, they were completely disoriented. The fact that we were able to get them back on the field in this tournament is a big deal. I think that’s the biggest achievement of my coaching career—that they’re back on the field and scoring again.”

He added, “Money is one thing, but it’s a small thing. The real thing is the World Cup he dreamed of his whole life—he wanted to play in that World Cup.”