The warning came during a virtual press conference held on Wednesday by the Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB).
At the conference, CWAB President and national cricketer Mohammad Mithun said that Najmul Islam must step down before Thursday’s BPL match; otherwise, players will halt all cricket activities.
Mithun added, “Najmul Islam’s remarks are against the honor and professionalism of the cricketers. This strict decision has been taken in protest against his controversial statements about the players.” He also confirmed that players have threatened to skip Thursday’s BPL match.
The row erupted after Najmul made remarks to the media regarding players’ remuneration. He said that players are not penalized financially for poor performance, questioning why they should be compensated if the national team does not participate in the T20 World Cup.
He further compared the board and players to the body and its limbs, stating, “If the board does not exist, will cricket or the players exist? I have two hands attached to my body. If the body doesn’t exist, what can the hands do?”
Responding to Najmul’s comments, Mithun said, “Everyone knows the words used against the players are unacceptable. First, remarks were made about Tamim, now about all cricketers. He has hurt the entire cricket community.”
Earlier, Najmul had criticized former captain Tamim Iqbal over his comments on the T20 World Cup in India, labeling him a “Dalal of India” on Facebook, which also drew protests from CWAB at the time.
In response, the BCB issued a statement clarifying that Najmul’s remarks were purely personal and do not reflect the Board’s position.
The statement expressed regret over the comments and emphasized that the Board had not authorised him to speak publicly on these matters, while promising to take appropriate action.
