Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hasan 'Papon' has claimed there have been constant attempts to jeopardize Bangladesh's upcoming tour of India, starting November 3.
Speaking to Bengali daily 'Prothom Aalo', Hasan also alleged that the recent strike by country's leading cricketers was an extension of the conspiracy to sabotage India tour.
Read More: Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal opts out of India tour; Imrul Kayes included
Last week, top Bangladesh players were on strike until their 11-point demands are being met. This brief strike had an immediate impact on the ongoing National Cricket League while the training camp for next month's series in India and the tour itself were under threat.
However, they decided to return to the field after BCB officials agreed to all their demands.
"You people (media) haven't yet seen anything about the India tour. Just wait and watch. If I am saying that I had specific information that this was a conspiracy to sabotage India tour, then you should believe me," Hasan stated.
The BCB chief further explained his suspicion by giving the example of veteran opener Tamim Iqbal, who has pulled out of the tour citing his wife's delivery as a reason after initially agreeing to only skip the final Test.
"Tamim had initially told me that he will only skip the second Test (in Kolkata from November 22-26) for the birth of his second child. However, after the meeting with players, Tamim comes to my room and said, he wants to opt-out of the whole tour. I asked him 'why so?' but he simply said he won't go," Hasan revealed.
For three T20Is and two Tests, Bangladesh are due to arrive in New Delhi on Wednesday (October 30) but BCB president is certain that there could be a few more pull-outs.
"Now after this, I won't be surprised if I find that someone else pulls out at the eleventh hour when we would be left with no other options. I have called Shakib to have a chat. Now if he also pulls out, where do I even find a captain? I might have to change the whole combination. What do I even do with these players," he said.
Hasan is now furious with the tactics of senior cricketers and feels he made a mistake by agreeing to fulfill their demands.
"I still can't believe it. I speak to them every day. They didn't even intimate me before calling a strike. I feel that it was a mistake on my part to have agreed to their demands. I should have never done that," he said.
"I should have told the players, 'Unless you call off strike, we will not sit with you guys across the negotiation table. Speaking to various member boards, I felt that this should have been our approach but the media also created pressure on us," the BCB boss added.
(With PTI inputs)
