Bangladesh cricket boycott explained: Najmul Islam’s remark was only the tipping point

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is fighting battles on multiple fronts. It is putting up a firm stand outside the country and then also resisting inside. The board is consistently telling the International Cricket Council (ICC) to shift their T20 World Cup matches outside of India in a demand which seemingly is falling on deaf ears. However, the board is still carrying on with it.

While that happens, a big problem has emerged inside as the players on Thursday refused to take the field. The Bangladesh Premier League, which is no stranger to controversies, saw another one - both the matches on Thursday had to be cancelled after players rose in protest, demanding the expulsion of director Najmul Islam, among several other things.

BCB, cornered from all sides, had to bow down and remove Islam. After a no-show on Thursday, BPL resumed a day later as the cricketers returned to play. However, things are still pretty shaky and can turn ugly at any time.

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What triggered revolt in Bangladesh cricket?

When asked by the media about the compensation to players if Bangladesh pulled out of the World Cup, Islam had said that they would not be compensated.

“If they go there and fail to do anything, then are we asking them to return the millions we have spent on them?” Islam had said.

Islam had also controversially called the legendary Tamim Iqbal an "Indian agent" after the former cricketer had said that the board should keep the future of Bangladeshi cricket in mind before making a decision on the T20 World Cup.

Players soon rose to protest and made it clear that unless Islam resigns from his position, they will not play. Pressure kept increasing on the board and it finally relented on Thursday evening.

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Bangladesh cricket revolt was long time in making

While it might seem that Islam’s comments were what brought the fury of players out in public. However, the anger has been building for some time now.

A report in the leading Bangladeshi daily Daily Star reveals that the crisis began last year when the elections for the board had taken place. Most organisers had already boycotted the elections and that led to Aminul Islam Bulbul taking over as the head.

Under him, BCB soured its ties with Dhaka clubs. Dhaka, the capital of the country, is the centre of cricket in Bangladesh. As tensions grew, eight First Division teams pulled out and dozens of players were left without livelihoods. The future of the Dhaka Premier League also seemed in doubt.

The administrators failed to provide any solutions. Requests from the Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) went unheard.

BCB’s handling of an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment by women's cricketer Jahanara Alam also raised questions. So did the removal of nine players from the players’ list ahead of the auction without any evidence of misconduct. In between, BCB entered into a deadlock with ICC, putting the T20 World Cup dreams of players in danger.

Amid all this, Islam’s comments came as a breaking point and the players decided they had had enough. BCB has managed to restart BPL and restore some of the lost pride. Now the board knows that it cannot take a unilateral decision on participation at the T20 World Cup.