The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has launched a formal investigation after former national women’s team captain Jahanara Alam publicly alleged inappropriate conduct by a former selector and other individuals associated with the women’s team setup. The claims relate to incidents that she says occurred across an extended period, including during the 2022 ODI World Cup.
Following widespread attention surrounding the allegations, the BCB issued a statement acknowledging the situation and outlining its administrative response, “The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has noted with concern the allegations reported in the media made by a former member of the Bangladesh national women’s cricket team regarding alleged misconduct by certain individuals associated with the team. As the matter is of a sensitive nature, the BCB has decided to form a committee to investigate the allegations thoroughly.”
The board also clarified the expected timeline and reiterated its policy stance regarding conduct within the organisation, “The committee will submit its findings and recommendations within 15 working days. The BCB is committed to ensuring a safe, respectful, and professional environment for all its players and personnel. The Board takes such matters with utmost seriousness and will take appropriate action based on the findings of the investigation.”
Jahanara, who now lives in Australia after stepping away from cricket for mental-health reasons, spoke about her experience in an interview with journalist Riasad Azim. She said that a former selector acted inappropriately toward her and that other officials also behaved improperly. She added that she reported the issues to former BCB director Shafiul Islam Nadel and the board’s chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury.
Explaining her hesitation to speak earlier, she described the constraints players face when their careers are at stake, “I faced several times (indecent proposal) not once. Definitely, when we are involved with the team, we cannot speak out about many things, even if we want to. When it comes to your bread and butter, when you are known by a few people, you cannot say or protest many things even if you want to.”
She stated that her decision to speak publicly was motivated by concerns about the environment for future players, “Ultimately cricket is my family, and I will definitely speak. I will speak so that maybe 10 more girls will want to return safely, just as I survived and returned. I want a beautiful environment for those 10 girls, and for them to play cricket safely in a safe environment, at least.”
Jahanara also alleged that further inappropriate behaviour occurred during the 2022 World Cup, prompting her to notify senior figures repeatedly, “Next, I got the second proposal from Manju Bhai during the 2022 World Cup. It seemed to me that I needed to inform the BCB about the incidents that happened to me over the past year and a half. I informed Nadel Sir, the head of my cricket family, countless times in many ways. He would provide a temporary solution, and Manju Bhai would be fine for a day or two and later the same. I even informed the CEO Sir.”
The allegations follow another recent interview in which Jahanara claimed that current Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana physically mistreated teammates. The BCB publicly rejected those statements, describing them as “baseless.”
Jahanara remains one of Bangladesh’s most experienced women’s cricketers, having taken 48 ODI wickets and 60 T20I wickets across 135 international white-ball matches. She is also the only Bangladeshi player to have participated in both the Women’s T20 Challenge in India and the FairBreak Invitational T20.
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