Asif Nazrul, Bangladesh’s sports advisor, now claims that the Cricket Board and the players made the decision to “protect national dignity” rather than citing his government’s security concerns as the reason for the nation’s reluctance to play its T20 World Cup matches in India.
After the ICC rejected Bangladesh’s plea to transfer its share of games to Sri Lanka, Scotland took Bangladesh’s position. The international organization has chosen not to punish the country for its position, nevertheless.
Prior to the team’s ouster, Nazrul was the focal point of the fruitless talks with the ICC. He had maintained that the Bangladeshi government had the right to refuse to send the team due to security concerns.
“There is no question of regret (not playing the World Cup). This decision was taken by the BCB and the players as they made sacrifices for the safety of the country’s cricket, the safety of the people and to protect national dignity,” Asif was quoted as saying by ‘Cricbuzz’.
Following discussions with the players and the Bangladesh Cricket Board, Nazrul had adopted a tough stance last month.
“I think we did not get justice from ICC. Whether we will play in the World Cup or not is entirely a government decision,” Nazrul had asserted on January 22.
Following their dismissal, Pakistan declared that they will boycott the match against India in support of Bangladesh. But after tense talks that also included the BCB, that deadlock was broken.
In addition to thanking Pakistan, Bangladesh requested that they attend the game against India for the sake of the game as a whole. The boycott call was later retracted by the Pakistani government.
“The ICC has said there will be no sanctions and that Bangladesh will be considered for hosting an international tournament. This is a brilliant achievement. I salute the Bangladesh Cricket Board,” Nazrul said.
