BCB
Players should not do politics and cricket together, says Asif
|| CF DESK ||
Bangladesh Youth and Sports adviser Asif Mahmud stated that active cricketers should not get involved with politics until they retire from cricket.
Shakib al Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza are renowned names among many players of Bangladesh cricket who got involved in politics despite being active in the sport.
According to the adviser, a cricketer should focus on one place at a time rather than hop into two ships because it hampers their concentration and performance.
"I don't think they should [play and do politics together]. Maybe one can join politics after retiring, but while still playing that should not be the case I think because there can be conflict of interest and lack of professionalism. I have already talked about this," Asif told Cricbuzz on Wednesday.
Asif also noted that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) should establish guidelines regarding players' involvement with business and sponsorship that violate laws and ethical standards.
"And it's not only politics. There are various advertisements that go against the law and people. They can do business, but there should be a guideline on what they can and cannot. There are allegations regarding betting business [endorsements] against some Indian cricketers, and maybe a few Bangladeshi as well. So I think there should be a guideline on this, BCB can fix that,” he added.
He also stated that BCB should not appoint an individual for the president role more than twice.
"The democratic way gets hindered when someone is in power for a long time. You will see all over the world that a prime minister or a president can't come in power for more than two terms, it's a constitutional rule. We as a nation are expected to make such changes in the constitution. We are thinking of it. We can go with such a decision for the federations and board as well," said Asif.