Bangladesh's sports advisor, Asif Nazrul, spoke about the country's absence from the T20 World Cup. He held the cricketers and the board responsible, which led to negative reactions from the players who said that they were not consulted about the choice to withdraw from the tournament, as reported by News 18.
Bangladesh was removed from the T20 World Cup by the ICC after deciding not to travel to India. Many believed the government had made that decision. However, Nazrul clarified on Tuesday that it was actually the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the cricketers who were hesitant to make the trip.
"The decision was made by the Bangladesh Cricket Board and the cricketers. They themselves made sacrifices for the safety of the country's cricket, for the safety of the people of the country," Nazrul said.
Last month, Nazrul had said, "I am making it clear to everyone: the decision not to play the World Cup in India, considering security concerns, is the government's."
Why the sudden U-turn?
Nazrul's sudden U-turn has frustrated Bangladesh cricketers, clearly so. The cricketers were set to travel to India, knowing how important the World Cup is and the impact of missing it.
Reports indicate that, with the ICC providing a large share of their revenue, the government did not take the cricketers' views into account during discussions. This makes Nazrul's decision to blame the board and players even more surprising.
What did cricketers say?
"That was funny," a cricketer said, under conditions of anonymity, reported News 18. Another cricketer was quoted as saying, "You heard what he said. What can we say? We have no one. We are helpless. We don't know what to say since we had no hand in this (World Cup exclusion). Many things don't need to be verbalised to be understood. We did not get any help from any side."
Also Read | Ravichandran Ashwin backs Pakistan spinner Usman Tariq after bowling action row resurfaces
Later, Nazrul clarified that the decision to not play was taken by the government based on security risks. "Since the beginning of January, I have clearly stated in various remarks that the decision not to play in the World Cup in India was the government's, based on security risks," Nazrul stated.
