Bangladesh national cricket team assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin has lambasted former sports advisor Asif Nazrul after he changed his stance on the national team’s participation in the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Nazrul, who had initially stated that the decision to boycott the tournament was taken by the government, took “U-turn” before leaving office, claiming that the call was made by Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the players, which Salahuddin termed a “blatant lie”.
“He told such blatant lies. 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 was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
“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.”
He further revealed that Bangladesh players were dejected for missing the World Cup, adding that “two of my players went numb for days”.
“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,” said Salahuddin.
“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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