Bangladesh pacer Jahanara accuses captain Nigar of 'beating juniors'; BCB calls claims baseless

Dhaka, Nov 5 (PTI) Out-of-favour Bangladesh women's team pacer Jahanara Alam has alleged that captain Nigar Sultana Joty "beats up" junior cricketers, a charge that has been rejected by the country's cricket board as "baseless and unfortunate".

In an interview to Bangladesh daily 'Kaler Kantho', Alam made a series of shocking allegations against the current skipper, some teammates, coaching staff and team management, following the side's seventh-place finish at the recent Women's ODI World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

"This is nothing new. Joty beats up the juniors a lot," Alam told the daily.

"Even during this World Cup, the juniors told me, 'No, I won't do this again. Then I'll have to get slapped again.' I heard from some people, 'I got beaten up yesterday.' Even during the Dubai tour, she called a junior into the room and slapped her." Alam, who took a two-month break earlier this year following a mental health breakdown during the 2024 T20 World Cup in the UAE, last played for Bangladesh against Ireland in December last year.

The 32-year-old, who has taken 48 wickets in 52 ODIs and 60 in 83 T20Is for Bangladesh, claimed that the team environment had become toxic over the years, forcing her to step away for the sake of her mental health.

"Actually, I am not alone, everyone in the Bangladesh team is more or less a victim. Everyone's suffering is different. Here, one or two people get advanced facilities and in some cases, only one person gets them.

"In 2021, the process of eliminating seniors like me along with a few others from the post-Covid camp began. 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. The pressure on seniors started from then on." The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) moved swiftly to dismiss the allegations.

"The BCB categorically and strongly refutes these allegations, which are baseless, fabricated and devoid of any truth," it said in a statement.

"The Board finds it unfortunate that such derogatory and scandalous 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 further described the remarks as "deliberate and ill-intentioned".

"It is deeply disappointing that an individual who currently has no involvement or relevance in the plans of Bangladesh cricket has chosen to make such misleading statements in public," the BCB said.

Backing its current players and management, the BCB said it has "complete trust and confidence in the women’s national team's leadership, players and management” and has "found no evidence to support any of the claims made." joty has not yet responded to the charges. PTI ATK PM ATK PM PM