|| CF Correspondent ||

The Tigers have gone through lots of ups and downs in terms of performance over the last three years, but what remained constant for them is their off-field controversies.

Three of the Bangladesh national team cricketers have been jailed on various charges in the last three years, while five others have been accused of either violence against women, or other woman-related issues. If this ‘trend’ continues, we might soon set up a ‘controversialist XI’ of our own.

What's alarming is that none of them have been able to a comeback except for Rubel Hossain, who is considered to be the ‘trend-setter’ in this regard. Unlike Rubel, the others failed to enter the core-group of performers comprising Mashrafe, Shakib, Mushfiq, Mahmudullah, and Tamim.

These five senior cricketers remained the backbone of the team and, most importantly, managed to conduct themselves in such a manner that they were never part of scandals – something that has been resurfacing quite regularly in the cricket fraternity of Bangladesh cricket.

BCB president Nazmul Hassan recently announced that they have decided to appoint a psychologist while they will be drafting a guideline for the cricketers that will clearly state their dos and don’ts and whoever fails to comply with it will face the consequences accordingly.

Hassan looks helpless whenever such incidents take place and he often concludes with ‘what can we do?’ type of phrases, which indicates the board is yet to find a solution regarding this matter.

But whether the board president himself remained responsible for this entire fiasco is a question that remained unanswered as his own admission regarding saving Rubel Hossain came as a surprise.

“We did not spare anyone except one [as far as disciplinary issues are concerned],” Nazmul told reporters during his last press conference at the BCB head quarter on Thursday.

“We tried to save Rubel as we had the World Cup and he was integral part of the set-up,” he added.

Had BCB opted not to use their influence, and if Rubel had to bear the brunt of his mistake fully, it could have been regarded as an exemplary measure taken by the board and others would think twice before making the same kind of mistake.

It is quite an open-secret that one senior member of the team played a big part in saving Sabbir from getting a big punishment despite his action that defamed the board to a great extent and it is for the same reason – World Cup 2019.

If a good showdown in the World Cup more important than putting everything in place for the juniors to follow is something only time can tell. And we will now go through the actions of the so-called ‘bad boys’.

# Rubel Hossain

Bangladesh pacer Rubel Hossain was the one to kick start this infamous journey of controversies from among the national team cricketers. In December 2014, his then-girlfriend had accused him of reneging on a promise of marriage and also filed a case against the bowler under Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.

On January 8 in 2015, Rubel was prisoned by a Dhaka court and was granted bail three days later. He then went to play at the ICC World Cup in Australia, where his heroics against England in group match helped the Tigers qualify for their first-ever knockout round in the tournament, and stole the limelight.

# Al Amin Hossain

Another Bangladesh pacer Al Amin had first affected his image by being sent back to the country from Australia for violating the team curfew during the ICC World Cup in 2015. He again made the headlines for wrong reasons during the Bangladesh Premier League [BPL] in 2016, when he, along with Sabbir Rahman, entertained two female guests in their hotel rooms by once again committing a serious breach of discipline. Sabbir was fined 30 percent while Al Amin was penalized half of his contract money that he earned from BPL.

# Shahadat Hossain

In October 2015, Shahadat Hossain became the second Bangladesh cricketer to land in jail. The reason behind his imprisonment is perhaps the most uncouth among these incidents. A case was filed against him for allegedly assaulting his 11-year-old housemaid.

Shahadat, who was released on bail in December, later got acquitted from the case through negotiation.

# Arafat Sunny

Arafat Sunny emerged as a crucial spin-bowling option for the Bangladesh national team when Abdur Razzak’s performance started to decline in the Red & Green outfit. Sunny's career came to a halt as he got suspended from bowling due to illegal action during the World T20 in 2016.

Although Sunny was cleared to bowl again in September 2016. He was once again reported for suspect bowling action during the BPL in November that year. The spinner’s failure to focus on the ‘sunny’ side of things and had to spend almost two months behind the bars as his wife, Nasrin Sultana, filed a complaint under ICT act in January 2016, saying he had posted their personal photos on social media without her consent.

Nasrin later filed a case under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act on March 9, accusing her husband and her mother-in-law of torture. The matter was later resolved by mutual cooperation between the couple.

# Mohammad Shahid