The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has expressed satisfaction with the response submitted by M Najmul Islam following a show-cause notice over his controversial comments about national cricketers.
Faiazur Rahman, chairman of the BCB’s Disciplinary Committee, confirmed to Times of Bangladesh that Najmul’s reply was viewed positively by the board.
“We received his response on Sunday afternoon,” Faiazur said. “I haven’t had the chance to review it in detail yet, as I was busy with other commitments and involved in a tournament. However, from what I have been briefed, the reply is positive and satisfactory.”
Faiazur indicated that the board may choose not to issue a formal statement on the matter. “Whether there will be a press release or not needs to be discussed with the media department,” he said. “I have been assigned this issue, and it will be discussed at the next board meeting.”
The controversy erupted last Wednesday evening after Najmul, a former chairman of the BCB’s finance committee, questioned the justification of financial investment in players if Bangladesh failed to perform at the World Cup.
“Why? If they go there and still can’t do anything, playing badly, then all the crores of taka we are spending on them — are we asking for that money back from them or not?” Najmul had said.
The remarks triggered strong reactions from players during the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League, with reports of a potential boycott adding to the tension.
On Friday night, BPL Governing Council member secretary Iftekhar Rahman Mithu said the situation escalated partly due to communication issues. “We tried to communicate with him throughout the day. We wanted to bring him here, but it was not possible to reach him,” Mithu said.
Faiazur echoed that view, adding: “We tried our best to contact him. After some delay, we were eventually able to reach him.”
With the disciplinary committee now satisfied with Najmul’s explanation, the issue appears to be moving towards resolution, pending further discussion at the board level.
