Bangladesh Cricketers End BPL Boycott; Demands Apology From Najmul Islam

The Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh called off its boycott of the Bangladesh Premier League after reaching a late-night agreement with the BCB, allowing the tournament to resume on Friday.

The Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) on Thursday withdrew its boycott of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) after a late-night resolution with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). The development clears the way for the BPL to resume on Friday evening.

The protest began after Bangladeshi cricketers demanded the resignation of BCB director M Nazmul Islam for making what they termed “objectionable comments” on Wednesday. Nazmul had said that the BCB would not suffer financially if it refused to travel to India for the 2026 T20 World Cup, adding that only the players would face losses as they would not be paid.

In the same statement, Nazmul questioned the “crores and crores of taka” invested in the players, raised doubts over their performances, and even suggested they return the money already spent on them. Following strong backlash, the BCB acted swiftly on Thursday and removed Nazmul from the finance committee, stating that the decision was taken in the best interests of the organisation.

“Keeping the greater interest of cricket in mind, we will resume playing tomorrow (on Friday). They (the BCB) have assured us that they will reach out to him (Nazmul) and fulfil our demands as early as possible,” CWAB president Mohammad Mithun said at a press conference. He was seated alongside BCB director Iftekhar Rahman.

Players Want Public Apology From Najmul

According to ESPNcricinfo, the protesting players welcomed Nazmul’s removal from the finance committee but continue to demand a public apology. This issue remains a key point of disagreement between the players and the board.

The BCB had earlier distanced itself from Nazmul’s remarks and expressed “sincere regret” over the comments. However, despite losing his role as chairman of the finance committee, Nazmul continues to serve as a director of the BCB.

BCB director Iftekhar Rahman confirmed that Nazmul has been issued a show-cause notice under the board’s constitution and has been given two days to respond.

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“We follow our constitution, and according to it, we have sent him a show cause notice. He has been given 48 hours to respond, which will end at noon on [Saturday]. Then it will go to the disciplinary committee, as per the constitution and the process will continue. We tried to contact him throughout the day. We wanted to bring him here, but we couldn’t reach him,” he said.

Nazmul, who had earlier referred to former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal as an “Indian agent”, is also linked to the wider controversy involving the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The BCB has refused to travel to India for the upcoming T20 World Cup, citing security concerns following national pacer Mustafizur Rahman’s difficult exit from the Indian Premier League.