 "Bangladesh coach calls ex-sports advisor a liar, reveals players’ pain over missing T20 World Cup: ‘Said such lies openly’")
Bangladesh national cricket team assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin has hit out at former sports advisor Asif Nazrul for lying about the team’s refusal to play the T20 World Cup 2026 matches in India that led to their removal. Scotland replaced Bangladesh after they refused to play their matches in India.
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The decision to boycott matches in India was taken by the government, as Nazrul made clear in an interaction with the media, but later he made a U-turn, saying the call was taken by the cricketers and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).
‘Nazrul is a liar’
Salahuddin has now accused Nazrul of being a liar, wondering how a university professor could indulge in such poor politics after ruining the dreams of the cricketers.
“He told such blatant lies,” Salahuddin said. “I am a teacher myself, and teachers generally lie a bit less. That he would say such lies so openly - I honestly can’t even imagine it. How will I even show my face in front of the boys? He took such a U-turn.
Salahuddin added that Nazrul’s U-turn is unacceptable to the team.
“He is a teacher, and a teacher at Dhaka University. A person from the highest educational institution of my country saying such lies - we can’t accept this. How can we accept this? He said one thing earlier and later took a U-turn.”
‘Bangladesh govt. ended a boy’s dream’
Salahuddin went on to highlight how difficult it has been for the cricketers to miss out on a T20 World Cup as Nazrul and the Bangladesh government “killed” their dreams.
“Look, when a boy goes to play a World Cup, he carries his dream - his 27-year-old dream - with him. You destroy that dream in one second. Fine, if it’s a country’s decision taken for national reasons, they will sacrifice for the country. But if you talk about loss, I will talk only about personal loss. Personally, you completely ended a boy’s dream. I know that two of my players went numb for days, completely lost,” Salahuddin said.
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View All“The fact that we were able to bring them back onto the field in this tournament is itself a big thing. I think this is the biggest success of my coaching life - that they came back onto the field and scored runs again. A person dreams for many years of playing a World Cup. Money is a factor, but it’s a small one. What really matters is the World Cup he has dreamed about all his life - he wanted to play that World Cup,” he said.
“Look, for the sake of the country, I’m also ready to sacrifice many things, and the boys are ready too. But did I put my hand on a boy’s head and say, ‘Son, you couldn’t play because of this’? If things had been communicated properly, I think many things could have been accepted,” he added.
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