Ex-ACC chief shreds Asif Nazrul for misguiding BCB during T20 World Cup fiasco: 'Bulbul walked into the trap'

Former Asian Cricket Council (ACC) CEO Ashraful Haque has criticised Bangladesh sports advisor Asif Nazrul and then-Bangladesh Cricket Board chief Aminul Islam Bulbul for the T20 World Cup fiasco, which led to their nation's removal from the marquee ICC T20 tournament.

Bangladesh had been replaced by Scotland in the T20 World Cup after refusing to travel to India citing security concerns in their neighbouring country. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had requested their group-stage matches be relocated to Sri Lanka, but the International Cricket Council rejected their plea.

Despite repeated assurances from the ICC, the diplomatic standoff continued, leading to Scotland replacing Bangladesh following their withdrawal.

Ex-ACC chief lambasts Nazrul, Bulbul for T20 WC pullout saga

Ashraful Haque criticised Asif Nazrul for leading the BCB and then-president Bulbul into a trap. He also blamed Bulbul for being influenced by the Bangladesh sports advisor, who has been accused of fanning anti-India sentiment in the region and pressuring the former BCB chief to agree to the boycott.

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"Absolutely, absolutely, and I was surprised that Aminul Islam Bulbul walked into the trap. It's like Asif Nazrul probably told him forcefully that we will not go to India, and right in the next minute, Bulbul says, 'We will not go to India.' That was a mistake, I think and had Bulbul stood up on his grounds that 'we will go to India, because the players want to go to India and we have signed a legal agreement with the organisers that we have to fulfill'," Ashraful Haque said, as quoted by the Hindustan Times.

Why were the IND-BAN cricketing ties affected?

Bangladesh's T20 World Cup pullout drama escalated when the BCCI advised the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to release pacer Mustafizur Rahman amid a tense political logjam between the two countries.

Following the T20 WC boycott drama, the BCB is now seeking to rebuild bilateral cricketing engagements with the BCCI. With the formation of a new ad-hoc committee under President Tamim Iqbal, the board is looking to move past the previous friction and strengthen ties with India.