BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said insulting cricket amounts to insulting the country, expressing agreement with the decision taken by the Bangladesh Cricket Board.
He made the remarks while speaking to journalists at his residence in Thakurgaon on Monday morning.
Referring to Bangladesh’s participation in the upcoming T20 World Cup to be held in India, he said cricket has become intertwined with politics and that national honour is involved.
“Cricket involves national honour. Insulting cricket means insulting the country. We agree with the decision of the cricket board,” he said.
On 16 December, Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for Tk9.20 crore at the IPL auction held in Abu Dhabi, but was later dropped following a directive from the Board of Control for Cricket in India citing the “regional situation,” which KKR implemented.
Following Mustafizur’s exclusion, the Bangladesh government ordered a halt to the broadcast of the IPL in the country, while the Bangladesh Cricket Board informed the International Cricket Council that Bangladesh would not play World Cup matches on Indian soil and requested that the fixtures be shifted to a neutral venue.
Commenting on the board’s stance, Mirza Fakhrul said political parties should remain united on such issues.
“We should agree on smaller issues. We are committed to implementing the Teesta plan. These matters will be resolved through mutual relations with India,” he said.
Expressing concern over the country’s overall law and order situation, the BNP secretary general said there has been no significant improvement so far.
“The government has failed to recover illegal weapons. We are very concerned. This is a failure of the government,” he said.
On the election, he said the electoral environment has remained reasonably good so far, adding that the real situation will be clearer once campaigning begins.
He also expressed hope that the overall situation would improve during the election period.
District BNP General Secretary Poygam Ali and leaders and activists of the party’s associate bodies were present at the programme.
