We act like nothing affects us: Shanto on controversies around Bangladesh teams before every WC

Bangladesh Test captain Najmul Hossain Shanto has said that players are often forced to put up an “act” to deal with controversies that emerge ahead of and during major tournaments like World Cups, admitting that such issues do affect the team even though players try to hide it.

“We haven’t got a good result in any World Cup. We had a good opportunity last time (at the T20 World Cup in 2024), but we couldn’t do it. But you will notice that before every World Cup, there’s some incident that takes place,” Shanto said on Friday while responding to a question on the uncertainty surrounding Bangladesh’s participation in the upcoming T20 World Cup scheduled for February–March in India and Sri Lanka.

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“As a player who has played one or two of these tournaments, I can tell you that it affects us. But we ‘act’ as if nothing affects us since we are professional cricketers. Even though you know that it affects us. It is not easy. It is better if these things didn’t happen. I think the players still try to keep all things aside to perform well.

“I would also add that this thing is beyond our control. Wherever we play the World Cup ultimately, I would think that the players have to act like nothing is bothering them, and they can do well for the team.”

With less than a month to go before the start of the T20 World Cup, a final call on Bangladesh’s participation is yet to be taken. The uncertainty follows a controversy involving the Indian Premier League, after the BCCI asked Kolkata Knight Riders to release their Rs 9.2 crore signing Mustafizur Rahman from IPL 2026.

The Bangladesh government subsequently suspended the IPL broadcast in the country, while the Bangladesh Cricket Board informed the ICC that the national team would not tour India and would prefer to play its World Cup matches in Sri Lanka, citing security concerns.

Shanto is not part of Bangladesh’s current T20 setup, but he captained the side in the previous T20 World Cup and was also part of the ODI World Cup campaign in India in 2023.

‘Completely reject Najmul’s comments’

Adding fuel to the fire, BCB director M. Najmul Islam targeted Tamim Iqbal and labelled him as an “Indian agent” when the former captain’s call for the board to prioritise cricketing considerations while deciding on World Cup participation.

Shanto expressed deep hurt over Najmul’s comments, calling it disrespectful and unacceptable.

“Very sad, very sad because such comments were made about a cricketer – a former captain, and in my opinion one of Bangladesh’s most successful cricketers whom we grew up watching,” Shanto said.

“As players, we expect respect, whether someone is a former captain, a regular player, successful or not. At the end of the day, a cricketer hopes for respect,” he added.

“What hurts most is that the cricket board is supposed to be our guardian. We expect them to protect us. As a player, I cannot accept such a comment. Parents should correct you at home, not in front of everyone. So such a comment from someone who is supposed to be our guardian is very difficult to accept. I completely reject it as a player,” Shanto concluded.