Out-of-favour Bangladesh star Jahanara Alam has made strong allegations against current skipper Nigar Sultana after the team's disappointing run in the Women's World Cup. She has accused Sultana of bullying juniors and even hitting them on occasions. She further said that this has led to many players not turning up to play.
Jahanara, who has taken a total of 108 scalps in white-ball cricket for Bangladesh, even accused Sultana of calling a junior into her room and slapping her during a recent tour.
"This is nothing new. Jyoti (current national team captain Nigar Sultana) beats up the juniors a lot. 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,' Jahanara told Kaler Kantha.
Notably, Jahanara hasn't made any appearance for the Bangladesh team since December, 2024. She wasn't picked in the squad for the World Cup either despite having a fairly decent record in one-day cricket. She further went on to claim that almost all players in the team are "victims" of the faulty system that only provides advanced facilities to one or two people.
"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-Corona 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,' she added.
BCB reacts to Jahanara's claims
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) didn't waste much time in reacting to the claims made by Jahanara. They went on to refute all the allegations against Sultana and labelled them as baseless and fabricated.
"The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has taken note of recent remarks made in the media by a former member of the Bangladesh Women’s National Cricket Team, in which she has made a series of allegations against the current National Team Captain, players, staff and team management," BCB said in a statement.
"The BCB categorically and strongly refutes these allegations, which are baseless, fabricated and devoid of any truth. 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 statement further read.
Bangladesh's World Cup debacle
Meanwhile, Bangladesh had a rather disappointing campaign in the recently-concluded Women's World Cup under tSultana's leadership. Following the victory over Pakistan in their opening game, the team failed to win any other match in the league stage and finished seventh on the standings with just three points from seven games.