BCB president Nazmul Hasan Papon is a man who never minces his words and always speaks his mind out. Indeed, his outspoken nature has often clashed with the players, but that hasn’t changed him one bit.

And now, after Bangladesh’s loss in the final of the tri-nation series against Sri Lanka, Papon has refused to blame the pitch, criticizing the players instead.

“There was no relation between the defeat and the pitch… no way. It's not good to shift blame on others rather than taking it on their own shoulders. This kind of mentality has suddenly grown in the team, which was not the case earlier,” said Hassan while talking to reporters at his residence last night. 

Papon then insisted that the batting was to blame, pointing out the shots of Tamim Iqbal, Sabbir Rahman and Mushfiqur Rahim to make his point in a very blunt manner.

“It happened because of poor batting and if you cannot bat properly then what can the pitch do? I cannot believe that we were not capable of chasing 221 runs. Was it a shot that Tamim [Iqbal] played?

“Was it a shot that Sabbir [Rahman] played? We shouted from the box when Mushfiqur [Rahim] first played the sweep and then he made the same mistake… three major players made mistakes. On the other hand, two players fell victim to run-outs when it was unnecessary to go for the run,” he explained.

The ability to read the pitch and perform accordingly are the traits of a great team, something that Papon doesn’t see in the Tigers right now.

“You have to understand and read the pitch because you will not always get it as you wish. If they failed to read the pitch after so many years, then what can I say?

“They should come out of the blame game and instead think about their own mistakes and concentrate on their game and responsibility,” he added.

Papon maintained his stand on curator Gamini Da Silva, defending the Sri Lankan over the pitch by reminding the reporters of the success Bangladesh have had since his arrival.

“We can in no way blame Gamini, who is a very professional guy. Hope you don't forget that we had a lot of success during his time. I cannot say more as a series is going on.”