As a result of Bangladesh’s withdrawal, Scotland have been given a place in the tournament.
Speaking to Cricfrenzy, Sujon suggested that further diplomatic efforts could have been made to resolve the situation, including the possibility of hosting Bangladesh’s matches in Sri Lanka.
Sujon acknowledged that the decision was made at a state level and must be respected. However, he expressed disappointment that Bangladesh, despite qualifying, will miss a World Cup for the first time since earning qualification.
“This is a government decision, and the country’s honour must come first,” Sujon said. “The insult to Mustafizur Rahman should hurt all of us, and from that perspective, this was the right call. But I still can’t accept that Bangladesh will not play in the World Cup.”
The controversy began after Mustafizur Rahman was dropped from the IPL amid threats from extremist groups, leading the BCCI to remove him from the Kolkata Knight Riders squad.
Following the incident, Bangladesh announced they would not travel to India for the World Cup. Sujon believes Mustafizur has been the biggest victim of the situation.
“Perhaps with a bit more diplomacy and discussions with the ICC, it could have been explored whether the matches could be shifted to Sri Lanka,” Sujon added.
“But since I’m not directly involved, it wouldn’t be right for me to comment further. I’m sure efforts were made. In the end, national dignity took priority. Mustafizur has suffered the most, he’s missing both the IPL and the World Cup.”
Sujon also pointed out that several Bangladeshi players were in excellent form in the recently concluded Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). Tanzid Hasan Tamim scored a century in the BPL final, while Parvez Hossain Emon, Litton Das and Towhid Hridoy also impressed with strong performances.
“T20 cricket is a very tough format. Our team was strong, especially our experienced bowling attack. In batting, we had dynamic players like Tamim, Emon, Litton and Hridoy. We had a real chance to do well. In ODIs, you get time to recover from mistakes, but in T20 cricket, that margin is very small.”
