Asif Nazrul says World Cup withdrawal was mainly his decision

Bangladesh boycotted the T20 World Cup held in India and Sri Lanka in February-March this year. The decision not to travel to the World Cup was mainly taken by Professor Asif Nazrul, the then adviser for youth and sports in the interim government. He has also said this publicly several times in the past.

After an investigation committee’s report on the incident was published, Asif Nazrul once again took responsibility for the decision in a Facebook post. At the same time, the former adviser questioned the investigation into the entire incident and the decision to publish its findings.

After the current government came to power, Youth and Sports Minister Aminul Haque formed a three-member investigation committee to find out why Bangladesh did not travel to play in the World Cup.

The committee’s report was presented at a press conference at the National Sports Council today, Tuesday by its head, AKM Wali Ullah, additional secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The other two members were former Bangladesh cricket captain and current BCB chief selector Habibul Bashar and Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Faisal Dastgir.

The 22-page report did not explicitly state who was responsible for Bangladesh’s decision to boycott the World Cup. However, when journalists asked at the press conference whose decision in the government had led to Bangladesh not playing in the World Cup, they were told that the decision had been taken by Professor Asif Nazrul.

Page 19 of the report states that such a decision should not be taken by a single individual. Although the report does not clarify who this ‘single individual’ was, Barrister Faisal Dastgir said at the press conference that they were referring to the then sports adviser Asif Nazrul. Asked who bore the main responsibility for the decision not to play in the World Cup, Wali Ullah said, “It was the government’s decision. What else can I say!”

A few hours after the investigation report was published, former sports adviser Professor Asif Nazrul clarified his position in a Facebook post.

In his Facebook post, he wrote, “As the sports minister at the time, the decision not to travel to India to play in the T20 World Cup was mainly mine. I have said this publicly several times myself. So I do not understand why, after all this time, the Ministry of Sports felt the need to conduct such a high-profile investigation into the matter and publish it.”

Explaining the background to the decision, Asif Nazrul wrote, “The incident began with Mustafiz being humiliatingly dropped from the IPL on the instructions of the Indian cricket board under pressure from Hindu extremists. Immediately afterwards, we expressed our reluctance to travel to India for the World Cup, citing concerns over security and protesting the humiliation of Bangladesh.”

Citing an ICC report to support his concerns, he further wrote, “The ICC’s first report itself acknowledged that our concerns were not unfounded. It mentioned three reasons for security concerns in India: if Mustafiz was in the World Cup squad, if Bangladeshi supporters were allowed to move around freely, and given the situation in Bangladesh ahead of the election. BBC Bangla also published an exact Bengali translation of that report. Given this situation, why would we go to India to play?”

Referring to efforts to play the World Cup at another venue, the former adviser said, “We made many attempts to play the World Cup at another venue. We also received support from some countries. But perhaps because of Indian dominance under the leadership of the ICC, it ultimately did not happen. Most importantly, there was no communication from the Indian authorities about bringing us to India to play.”

Explaining the reasoning behind the decision, he wrote, “There were three things that were absolutely clear behind my decision: the dignity of the country, the safety of our cricketers, journalists and supporters, and maintaining stability in the country’s situation ahead of the next election. At the time, it was said that if we did not play in the World Cup, Bangladesh’s matches against foreign teams would be stopped. Various initiatives by our cricket board eventually dispelled that concern as well.”

Claiming that the decision he took was the right one, Asif Nazrul said, “I believe we made the right decision. It is not right to expect that because we are a small country, someone can humiliate us as they please and we will always accept it silently. I believe in friendship with India on the basis of equal dignity, not in bowing our heads and accepting everything.”