The current saga between the Bangladesh Cricket Board and players has taken an end as the proceedings for Friday is set to resume. Bangladesh cricketers have vowed to continue their boycott of all cricket activities until BCB director M Nazmul Islam issues a public apology for his recent derogatory comments against players.
CWAB issued a statement indicating players will resume BPL games from Friday if Islam apologises publicly, while allowing time for his potential removal as director.
However, the BCB finally came to terms with the players late on Thursday night, which has ended their boycott campaign for now.
"Keeping the greater interest of cricket in mind, we will resume playing tomorrow [on Friday]. They [the BCB] have assured us that they
will reach out to him [BCB director M Nazmul Islam] and fulfil our demands as early as possible," Mithun said in a press conference late in the night on Thursday.
Matches in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and Dhaka Cricket League were cancelled on Thursday amid the protest, led by Mohammad Mithun, head of the Cricketers' Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB). The BCB removed Islam from his finance committee role and distanced itself from his remarks, stating they do not reflect board policy and pledging disciplinary action.
"We welcome the decision to remove BCB director M Nazmul Islam from the board's finance committee," the CWAB said on Thursday.
"Since he has been given a showcause notice and since the BCB has asked for time due to procedural reasons regarding his directorship, we want to give him that time. However, we hope that the process will continue.
"In addition, since Director M Nazmul Islam has publicly spoken insulting words about the cricketers, we hope that he will publicly apologise. We have informed the BCB that we are ready to return to the game from Friday if he publicly apologises and the process for his directorship is ongoing," the stance remained clear.
BCB president Aminul Islam reportedly rejected a public apology during talks, offering only a private one, frustrating senior players including captains like Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Mithun emphasized avoiding prolonged disruption but insisted on firm commitments to prevent future stoppages.
Nazmul recently called the former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal an 'India Agent' as well, further angering the players amid the ongoing impasse between ICC and Bangladesh over the T20 World Cup venue.
