Jamaat chief Shafiqur calls Mustafizur's IPL snub a 'grave insult'

“We want to see our neighbours as friends,” he says

Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Shafiqur Rahman has described the exclusion of Satkhira-born cricketer Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League (IPL) as a “grave insult”.

“Isn’t it Mustafiz who illuminated the cricketing world, and who has illuminated Bangladesh? And yet this neighbouring country did not allow this boy to go even for a friendly match. This is a gross insult to the country and to cricket.

“The Bangladesh Cricket Board has withdrawn its decision to go to India and play T20 matches in such a humiliating situation. Our demand was — ‘hold the matches in Sri Lanka and we will participate’. The cricket board (ICC) did not accept this reasonable demand. We are sorry, we are ashamed,” he said.

The Jamaat-e-Islami chief was addressing an election rally on Tuesday at Satkhira Government Boys’ High School ground.

Addressing the governing body of world cricket, he said: “There is still time. We request you to review your decision.

“There are many examples in world cricket history. World Cups have been held where a team felt insecure or unsafe and said, ‘we will not play in that country; we will play at a venue in a neighbouring country’—and such venues were arranged. If this can be done for others, why will it not be done for Bangladesh?”

This is the first time Bangladesh will not be playing in a T20 World Cup. As the Bangladesh team refused to play in India citing security concerns, the ICC has given Scotland the opportunity to play in Bangladesh’s place.

The controversy began when Mustafizur was dropped from the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders following demands from some political and religious leaders.

Bangladesh reacted strongly to the incident. IPL broadcasts were suspended in the country. Citing security concerns, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) demanded that Bangladesh’s matches be moved from India to Sri Lanka.

After much back-and-forth, a 14–2 vote at an ICC meeting last Wednesday decided to reject Bangladesh’s request. The BCB also failed to get support from the ICC’s dispute resolution committee. On Saturday, the world cricket governing body announced Scotland would take the place of Bangladesh.

Shafiqur said, “We must uphold examples and symbols of patriotism everywhere. We want to see our neighbours as friends and neighbours. We want to treat them well.”

“But we also want good treatment from them. Our position is clear. Without harming anyone and through a just path, we want to maintain good relations with them. We want to keep them as good friends.”