Bangladesh Assistant Coach Slams Ex-Sports Advisor Over T20 World Cup Exit

Bangladesh senior assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin has strongly objected to the statements made by former sports advisor Asif Nazrul. He said that these statements are full of blatant lies. It is known that the Bangladeshi team was replaced by Scotland at the last moment in the recent T20 World Cup 2026 after India refused to go to the tournament due to increased tensions between the two countries. Nazrul had tried to blame the Bangladeshi cricket team for the exit of the T20 World Cup. Now, the assistant coach has revealed them and also shown the impact of the government decision on the players.

Speaking to reporters, Salahuddin said that the dream of a 27-year-old player, who aspired to play in the World Cup, was shattered in a second by the decision to leave the tournament. He claimed that two players went into a mental coma and were completely lost for five days. He said that it was very difficult to bring them back to the field from that phase.

He said that when a boy goes to play in the World Cup, he takes with him his dream, a 27-year-old dream. You shatter that dream in a second. If this decision was made for national reasons, then they would sacrifice for the country. But, if you talk about loss, I will only talk about personal loss. Personally, you completely destroyed the dream of a boy. I know that two of my players went into a mental coma for five days, completely lost. The fact that we were able to get him back on the field for the second tournament is a big thing in itself.

The Bangladesh senior assistant coach's comments about the sports advisor echo former ACC CEO Ashraful Haque's earlier statements that the players were not even consulted before making the decision. Salahuddin accused Nazrul of blatant lies and making multiple U-turns.

Salahuddin said, "He blatantly lied. I'm a teacher myself, and teachers usually lie less. I can't imagine him lying so blatantly."