People’s emotions were capitalized on in political games: Shakib

Staff Correspondent

Bangladesh’s best all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan sees Bangladesh’s decision not to participate in the World Cup as a political move. According to him, the then government and those concerned tried to capitalize on the emotions of the people at that time and take advantage of it.

In a recent interview with bdnews24.com, Shakib said that not playing in the World Cup was a huge ‘blunder’. He believes that the issue of excluding Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL could have been resolved through discussions between the boards of the two countries. But instead of doing that, the issue has been taken to a different sector.

Shakib said, ‘This is their domestic tournament, they can take any decision. There was a problem with them, and I started a war with the ICC—it’s not a workable thing. Political games have been played here.’

Questioning the role of then BCB president Aminul Islam Bulbul, he said, “The board could have taken a strong stand here, which they did not. The board’s responsibility was to convince the government that we cannot harm ourselves by not going to the World Cup. I don’t know why Bulbul bhai didn’t do this.” Shakib believes that Aminul Islam may have lost his post as president due to not going to the World Cup.

Regarding the strained cricketing relationship, he further said, “Our cricket board does not need to be an enemy of anyone. Of course, we will not wring our hands or kneel, but why make enemies? This is the first time in my career of so many years that I have seen any trouble between our cricket board and another board.”

Criticizing the mispoliticization of the emotions of the people of the country, Shakib questioned why a strict stance was taken only on cricket, even though there is dependence on India for daily essential goods or medical treatment. He believes that the income from the tour of India in cricket provides a huge budget for the board. Therefore, it was more important to understand one’s own country through friendly relations rather than just showing off in the name of patriotism.