BCB director faces backlash for calling Tamim India’s agent, QAWB holds press conference

Sports Desk

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) director and finance committee chairman M Nazmul Islam has come under fire after calling former captain Tamim Iqbal an “Indian broker” in a social media post. Cricketers’ body QAWB has demanded an apology and action be taken against him.

The Cricketers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) organized an emergency press conference in Sylhet on Friday afternoon. They also issued a statement earlier.

The organization’s president, Mohammad Mithun, read out the statement and later said in the question-and-answer session, “Despite having two former captains on the board, a responsible director has abused former captain Tamim Iqbal. This is unacceptable in any way. We want to see what action is taken against him.” Mithun said at this time, “We are definitely in favor of playing the World Cup. The game cannot be stopped.”

Nazmul recently shared a comment by Tamim, in which the former opener urged the BCB to carefully consider all aspects before taking any decision on Bangladesh’s participation in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup. He noted that a large part of the board’s income comes from the ICC.

While sharing the comment on Facebook, Nazmul wrote that the country has now “found another proven Indian broker.”

After facing widespread criticism, Nazmul made another Facebook post a few hours later, claiming that the comment was his personal observation and should not be interpreted otherwise.

On Friday, the Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) said that they had written a letter to the BCB president demanding action against the director and a public apology from him.

In a statement, the BCB said, “A comment made by BCB Director M Nazmul Islam about former national captain Tamim Iqbal has come to the notice of the BCB. We are shocked, shocked and outraged by it.”
“Such a comment by a board official about the most successful opener in Bangladesh’s history, who represented the country for 16 years, is highly condemnable. Such a comment not only about a player like Tamim, but about any cricketer in the country is unwelcome and insulting to the entire cricket community.”

The COAB added that the comments raised serious concerns about the conduct of the board officials. “When a responsible board director makes such comments publicly, serious questions arise about the professionalism, ethics and code of conduct of the BCB officials,” the statement said.

“We have already submitted a protest letter to the BCB president, demanding a public apology from the concerned director and holding him accountable. We hope the BCB president will take appropriate action soon.”

Several national team cricketers, including Taskin Ahmed, Mominul Haque and Taijul Islam, have also expressed their displeasure on social media.

Taskin said such comments are detrimental to the progress of Bangladesh cricket. He wrote, “Cricket is the lifeblood of Bangladesh. A recent comment about a former national captain who made a great contribution to the game has left many concerned. Such comments targeting a former cricketer are not helpful to the interests of Bangladesh cricket. I hope the concerned authorities will consider the matter seriously and take a more responsible stance in the future.”

Taijul said he was shocked by the language used to criticize Tamim. His statement said, “I am shocked by the statement made by BCB Director M Nazmul Islam about former captain Tamim Iqbal. Such choice of words by the board director about a national team cricketer is not only ugly, but also completely unacceptable and against our cricket culture. Such public comments from a responsible position raise questions about professionalism and ethics. I demand a public apology and proper accountability for this.”

Mominul Haque described the comment as an insult to the country’s cricket community. He said, “BCB Director M Nazmul Islam’s comment on Tamim Iqbal is completely unacceptable and defamatory. A senior cricketer has not been given the slightest respect, on the contrary, he has been publicly humiliated. I strongly condemn this comment and demand a public apology from the BCB and immediate action.”