“Instead of Mustafizur, if it had been Litton Das or Soumya Sarkar, would they have done the same? » – asks the former BCB administrator | Cricket News
New Delhi: Former Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) general secretary and former Asian Cricket Council (ACC) CEO Syed Ashraful Haque has launched a scathing criticism of political interference in cricket administration, terming the ongoing controversy involving Mustafizur Rahman and Bangladesh’s participation in the T20 World Cup “ridiculous” and “a travesty”.Speaking at length on the debate around Bangladesh’s matches in India and the demand for a hybrid model, Haque said the sport across the subcontinent has been “hijacked by politicians” who understand neither cricket nor its wider implications.
“The entire cricket ecosystem in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and all over the world has been hijacked by politicians. Think about it. Would this have happened if people like Mr. Jagmohan Dalmia, Mr. IS Bindra, Mr. Madhavrao Scindia, Mr. NKP Salve or even Mr. N Srinivasan were in charge? This would have never happened because they were mature people. They understood the game and the implications,” Haque told TimesofIndia.com from Kuala Lumpur.Go beyond borders with our YouTube channel. REGISTER NOW!“Now it has been completely hijacked. You have people who have never held a bat. In your case, you have Jay Shah, who has never even held a cricket bat in a competitive match.”
Our sports advisor says Bangladesh should not go to India. Think about it. This is a World Cup event. This is not the IPL. The IPL is a domestic tournament. This is an international World Cup event. You cannot make such rash statements.
Syed Ashraful Haque Ex-administrator of BCB and ACC
He did not hesitate to question his country’s leaders as well.“We have the same thing here. The government is run by people who are not politicians and have no background in sports. Our sports advisor makes a statement that Bangladesh should not go to India. Think about it. This is a World Cup event. This is not the IPL. The IPL is a domestic tournament. It is an international World Cup event. You cannot make rash statements like this.”“Instead of Mustafizur, if it was Litton Das or Soumya Sarkar, would they have done the same thing? They wouldn’t have done it.”Terming the controversy politically motivated, Haque said, “Politicians are only playing on cheap religious sentiment. »Haque argued that solutions existed in the past.
We cannot compare the relations between India and Pakistan with those between India and Bangladesh. It’s very different. India and Bangladesh are like brothers. It’s very old. India came to play test matches in Bangladesh. BCCI played an important role in helping us achieve Test status.
Syed Ashraful Haque | Former BCB & ACC administrator
“It’s a global event. You want every country in the world to play. This has happened in the past too. Earlier, points were lost. The problem here is that Bangladesh play all their matches in India. If they had played half the matches in Sri Lanka or elsewhere, that would have been enough.”“We could give away goals in two matches and play out the others, like England did, like West Indies did. Many teams have done it. But now this whole hybrid thing has been done for security reasons.Haque called the current scenario ridiculous. “If India threatens Mustafizur to be in the team, then he will be there. But our team is led by Litton Das. Isn’t that a travesty?”The veteran administrator blamed the impasse on electoral politics.
We have a sports advisor who has never held a cricket bat. He is a teacher and a revolutionary. What does cricket matter to him? He’s looking for publicity and he’s only here for the next two months.
Syed Ashraful Haque | Former BCB & ACC administrator
“This is what happens when immature politicians come to power. You have elections in West Bengal and Assam, so you play this political card to get votes.” And you are putting an international event of the magnitude of the World Cup in difficulty.Haque said moving the matches to Sri Lanka would solve the problem.“If they can move it to Sri Lanka, it’s a win-win situation for everyone. If they can’t, I doubt Bangladesh will come to India to play this role.”Asked about the financial implications for Bangladesh, if the ICC does not listen to the BCB’s request and the Bangladesh government refuses to send the team to India.“Maybe it will cost us financially. But the national pride is much greater than the financial losses.”
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Drawing a comparison with past crises, Haque recalled the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, when he was the head of the ACC.“You cannot compare the relationship between India and Pakistan with that between India and Bangladesh. It is very different. India and Bangladesh are like brothers. It is very old. India came to play Test matches in Bangladesh. The BCCI played a big role in helping us get Test status.”He added: “2008 was a much tougher year than this one, and we got through it. We got through it because we had good, sensible people as directors of all three agencies.”“Now we don’t have that. We have a sports advisor who has never held a cricket bat. He is a teacher and a revolutionary. What does cricket matter to him? He is looking for publicity and he is only there for the next two months.”
