BCB director Iftekhar Rahman Mithu has called Noakhali Express unprofessional after an incident during a practice session in Sylhet, as tension builds ahead of the 2026 Bangladesh Premier League.
Two coaches of Noakhali Express left the field angrily midway through training at the Sylhet International Stadium on Wednesday. Head coach Khaled Mahmud Sujan and assistant coach Talha Jubayer later left the venue in a CNG-run auto-rickshaw as journalists surrounded them. The incident reportedly began over a dispute related to practice balls.
Speaking to reporters in Sylhet, Mithu said the situation should never have escalated.
“This means they are unprofessional. I could have told the governing council to give them ten balls, or we would have provided them ourselves,” Mithu said, explaining that the issue was minor and easily manageable.
He added that the coaching staff had other simple options available.
“Even the coach could have asked another team. This is a very simple solution. If the balls were not available, they could have taken them from another team for the day and returned them later. This has happened many times,” he said.
The Noakhali Express incident came only hours after another disruption in the league. Chattogram Royals owner Abdul Kaiyum stepped away from the franchise ownership. There was also no official captains’ press conference or photoshoot on the eve of the tournament.
With the league facing criticism even before it begins, journalists asked Mithu whether organising the BPL in such conditions was a mistake. Mithu, who is also the member secretary of the BPL Governing Council, pointed to the lack of preparation time.
“I have said this before. We got very little time. We took charge on October 12–13. If the teams had already been there, things would have been very easy,” Mithu said.
He explained that organisers had to rebuild the tournament structure in a short window.
“Now we had to form new teams because the previous contracts had expired. Doing all this and organising such a big tournament in just two months is really very difficult,” he added.
When asked whether postponing the BPL would have been a better option, Mithu said the decision was not his to make.
“This decision was not mine. It was taken collectively by the higher authorities,” he said.
Despite criticising Noakhali Express for their behaviour, Mithu acknowledged one positive step by the franchise.
“The good thing is that they have paid the players,” he said, confirming that Noakhali Express have already paid 25 percent of the players’ salaries before the start of the tournament.
