Former Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) general secretary Syed Ashraful Haq said the administration of sports in Asia has been taken over by politics. Ashraful Haq said that people without sporting background, including Jay Shah, now control major decisions of cricket, which has harmed the governance of the game.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided not to allow Mustafizur Rahman to participate in the Indian Premier League 2026. The move came after protests in India over the killing of Hindus in Bangladesh. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) released the fast bowler, which strained relations between the two boards.
The entire cricket ecosystem has been hijacked by politicians – former BCB official on Jay Shah
In response, Bangladesh requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) to move its T20 World Cup matches from India. Speaking to Times of India, Syed Ashraful Haq took a dig at Jay Shah and said that such controversies do not happen with experienced cricket administrators.
“India, Bangladesh, Pakistan – everywhere – the entire cricket ecosystem has been hijacked by politicians. Just think about it,” Haq told TimesofIndia.com.
He said, “Would this ever have happened if people like Mr. Jagmohan Dalmia, Mr. IS Bindra, Mr. Madhavrao Scindia, Mr. NKP Salve or even Mr. N. Srinivasan were in charge? This would never have happened because they were mature people. They understood the game and they understood the implications of it.”
Jay Shah never even held a cricket bat in any competitive match – former BCB official
Syed Ashraful Haq said that the World Cup cannot be treated like a domestic league like IPL. Haq said cricket leaders, including Jay Shah, are making important calls without any playing experience.
“Now it has been completely hijacked. You have people who have never held a bat. In your case, you have Jay Shah, who has never even held a cricket bat in a competitive match,” Haq said.
He said, “Our sports advisors make statements that Bangladesh should not go to India. Think about it. This is a World Cup event. This is not the IPL. IPL is a domestic tournament. This is an international World Cup event. You cannot make statements like this without thinking.”
If it were Liton Das or Soumya Sarkar, would they have done the same? – Former BCB official
The former BCB official accused the cricket board members of dragging the World Cup into controversy by mixing politics and religion with the game. He said that if a Hindu Bangladeshi player like Liton Das or Soumya Sarkar had been involved, the situation would have been handled differently.
“Had Liton Das or Soumya Sarkar been in place of Mustafizur, would they have done the same? They would not have done so.”
Haq said, “These are all cheap religious sentiments that politicians are playing. This happens when immature politicians take over power. You have elections in West Bengal and Assam, so you play this political card to get votes. And you have put an international event like the World Cup in trouble.”
The ICC T20 World Cup is scheduled to begin in February and Bangladesh are scheduled to play their group-stage matches in Kolkata and Mumbai. Notably, the ICC has not said that it will move these games to any other country.
At the same time, BCB said that ICC is ready to listen. The board sent two official letters expressing security concerns about the trip to India and asking for the matches to be shifted to Sri Lanka.
Also read: To reduce India-Bangladesh tension, BCCI requested for Mustafizur Rahman’s IPL return? BCB President disclosed