Dhaka: Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hasan has said that there are people who have tried to sabotage their team’s upcoming tour of India, adding he expects more players to pull out at the last moment.
The ongoing feud between the BCB and its cricketers got resolved after the board officials agreed to “nearly most” of the demands made by the players.
Top Bangladesh cricketers last Monday went on strike saying that they would not take part in any cricketing activity until their pay demands were addressed.
“I am saying that I had information that this was a conspiracy to sabotage the India tour, then you should believe me,” Hasan told Bangladesh’s top vernacular daily ‘Prothom Aalo’.
Bangladesh suffered a major blow when their most experienced batsman Tamim Iqbal opted out of the upcoming India tour, as his wife is expecting their second child.
Hasan said Iqbal had agreed to skip only one Test and then pulled out of the entire tour, raising eyebrows.
“Tamim had initially told me he will only skip the second Test (in Kolkata from November 22-26) for the birth of his second child. However, after the meeting with players, Tamim told me he wants to opt-out of the whole tour. I asked him ‘why so?’ but he was adamant,” Hasan said.
He said there could be a few more who would opt out of the tour.
“I won’t be surprised if someone else pulls out at the eleventh hour and then we would be left with no other options. I have called Shakib to have a chat. Now if he also pulls out, where do I even find a captain? I might have to change the whole combination. What do I even do with these players,” he said.
“I speak to them every day. They didn’t even intimate me before calling a strike. I feel that it was a mistake on my part to have agreed to their demands. I should have never done that,” he said. IANS