Surrounded by criticism, Bangladeshi female cricketer Jahanara Alam has made serious allegations against the current Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana Joti and accused her of physically abusing junior cricketers in the Bangladesh women’s team.
Jahanara Alam has represented Bangladesh in 52 ODIs and 83 T20Is and has taken 108 wickets for the national team.
The 32-year-old Bangladeshi player was last seen playing during the Ireland tour in December 2024 and has been absent from the team since then. She has settled in Sydney and is unlikely to play for the national team any further.
Former fast bowler accuses Bangladesh captain of physical abuse on junior players
Recently, while talking to Bangladesh based newspaper Kaler Kantha, he made a shocking revelation about the actions of the current Bangladesh captain and his dressing room. He claimed that the captain ‘beats’ his junior teammates a lot.
“This is nothing new. Joty beats the juniors a lot. Even during this World Cup, the juniors told me, ‘No, I will not do this again. Then I will have to get slapped again.’ I heard from some people, ‘Yesterday I was beaten.’ Even during the Dubai tour, he called a junior into the room and slapped him,” said Jahanara Alam, via the above-mentioned source.
The Bangladesh team, led by Nigar Sultana, finished seventh in the recent eight-team tournament; However, they recorded an impressive win over Pakistan Women in the beginning of their World Cup campaign.
Jahanara Alam refers to the politics within the BCB and the Bangladesh national cricket team
Alam has been absent from the Bangladesh team for almost a year and has now accused many players like him of being affected due to politics in the system.
“Actually, I am not alone; everyone in the Bangladesh team is suffering more or less. Everyone’s suffering is different. Here, one or two people get advanced facilities, and in some cases, only one person gets it. In 2021, the process of excluding seniors like me, along with a few others, from the post-Covid camp began,” Jahanara said.
“Then I was made the captain of one of the three teams in the Bangladesh Games. The captains of the other two teams were Jyoti (Nigar Sultana) and Sharmin Sultana. From then on, the pressure on the seniors started,” he said.
However, the BCB had claimed that the cricketer herself wanted to be out of the central contract as well as the national team for some time to address her mental health issues.
It seems that the Bangladesh Cricket Board is supporting their captain as they have denied any such claims by the fast bowler. He also mentions him as a ‘former’ cricketer, hence claiming a possible end to his career for Bangladesh.
“The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has taken note of the recent comments made in the media by a former member of the Bangladesh women’s national cricket team, in which she has made several allegations against the current national team captain, players, staff and team management,” an official BCB report said.
“The BCB clearly and strongly refutes these allegations, which are baseless, fabricated and devoid of any truth. The Board finds it unfortunate that such outrageous and condemnable claims have been made at a time when the Bangladesh women’s team is showing commendable progress and unity on the international stage.”
The board said it believed Alam’s comments were “deliberate, ill-intentioned and appear to have been aimed at undermining the spirit and confidence of a team that continues to represent the country with pride.”
Also read: No KL Rahul! Abhishek Nair is in combat mode with MS Dhoni for another Rahul
