By IANS,
Dhaka : Money lured some Bangladeshi players to the banned Indian Cricket League (ICL), risking their careers on international and domestic circuits, cricketers and cricket officials said.
“They have made many excuses but the cricketers should have had the courage to admit that money was the primary thing that tempted them,” Faruque Ahmed, a former national captain, said at a discussion.
Ahmed was referring to the 13 cricketers who joined the ICL under the banner of Dhaka Warriors last week.
“Some have even said they had problems with the board or the coach. But they should have raised these issues earlier,” Ahmed said at a roundtable organised by The Daily Star newspaper Saturday.
“There was also talks of players joining the ICL last year when the rebel league began. But it did not materialise. I think the BCB (Bangladesh Cricket Board) officials, who had hints, did not take it seriously. They should have handled the situation better,” Ahmed said.
BCB chairman of cricket operations Gazi Ashraf Hossain admitted that they knew “something was going to happen”.
“But we kept in touch with the players and it never came to my mind that they would be joining ICL sacrificing their national careers,” he said.
“For example, I was in touch with our former national captain Habibul Bashar. We were thinking about giving him a chance in the coming home series. So I had talks with him every other day on how he was training and preparing.”