Cricket

Bangladesh cricketers make U-turn, call off boycott after late-night talks with BCB: 'Unfortunate incidents have taken place'

January 16, 2026

Trending:Nobel Peace PrizeIran unrestIndia OpenGrok deepfakesCarney-Xi meetingTaskaree: The Smuggler’s Web reviewBangladesh cricketers make U-turn, call off boycott after late-night talks with BCB: 'Unfortunate incidents have taken place'FirstCricket Staff • January 16, 2026, 11:25:07 ISTWhatsapp Facebook TwitterA surprising twist has taken place in the Bangladesh cricket boycott saga as cricketers have decided to withdraw their protest without a public apology from BCB’s controversial director Najmul Islam. AdvertisementSubscribe Join Us+ Follow us On GoogleChoose Firstpost on GoogleBangladesh cricketers have withdrawn the boycott despite Najmul Islam not apologising publicly. Images: Bdcrictime Videos/YouTubeCricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) has made a U-turn, deciding to withdraw its complete boycott that had brought cricket to a standstill in Bangladesh in protest of comments made by Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) controversial director Najmul Islam. The immediate end to the boycott means the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) could resume from 16 January after matches were called off on 15 January due to the protest. “Keeping the greater interest of cricket in mind, we will resume playing tomorrow [today],” CWAB president Mohammad Mithun said on Thursday late at night during a joint press conference of CWAB and BCB, during which board director Iftekhar Rahman Mithu was also present. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS ADBefore the press conference, the cricketer’s association had said that they would only withdraw the boycott if Najmul Islam made a public apology and BCB removing him from the finance committee earlier in the day would not be enough. More from First Cricket Abhishek Nayar stands by retired-out call as Harleen Deol breaks silence after redemption knock: 'Yesterday gave me confidence' BCCI finally responds as Bangladesh escalate demand to move T20 World Cup matches: 'We are totally...'“We welcome the decision to remove BCB director M Nazmul Islam from the board’s finance committee,” CWAB said in an earlier statement.

apologising publicly. Images: Bdcrictime Videos/YouTube

Credit: Bangladesh cricketers have withdrawn the boycott despite Najmul Islam not

Key Highlights

“Since he has been given a showcause notice and since the BCB has asked for time due to procedural reasons regarding his directorship, we want to give him that time.
However, we hope that the process will continue.“In addition, since Director M Nazmul Islam has publicly spoken insulting words about the cricketers, we hope that he will publicly apologise.
We have informed the BCB that we are ready to return to the game from Friday if he publicly apologises and the process for his directorship is ongoing.”Quick ReadsView All'Won't require surgery...': Real reason behind Jasprit Bumrah's absence from 5th Test revealed in new reportPCB bans players from WCL over India-Pakistan match controversyAs per ESPN, BCB president Aminul Islam had communicated to Mohammad Mithun, the head of the Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh, that Najmul Islam was ready to apologies in a “closed-door” meeting, but players were not happy with this stance. Why Bangladeshi cricketers made a U-turnAs a result, BCB was planning to postpone the BPL indefinitely, but things changed during another late-night meeting between the board and players, where franchise owners were also present.
The cricketers agreed to withdraw their boycott after the BCB assured that it would continue its action against Najmul Islam.“A few unfortunate incidents have taken place over the past two days, which is why we were unable to hold today’s BPL matches,” BCB director Iftekhar Rahman Mithu said at the joint press conference. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD“The director who made the comments, he has been removed from his committee [finance committee].
We follow our constitution, and according to it, we have given him a show cause notice.

First Cricket

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Bangladesh cricketers make U-turn, call off boycott after late-night talks with BCB: 'Unfortunate incidents have taken place'

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Bangladesh cricketers make U-turn, call off boycott after late-night talks with BCB: 'Unfortunate incidents have taken place'

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