Never experienced this before: Bangladesh players' body head says getting death threats
Dhaka (PTI): Bangladesh's Cricketers' Welfare Association (CWAB) President Mohammad Mithun has said that he has received death threats for taking a stand for the players after they were targeted with derogatory comments by a top Board official.
In an interview to 'Cricbuzz', Mithun reiterated that he wants the national team to play next month's T20 World Cup but not with any security worries. Bangladesh is demanding that its four preliminary World Cup games be moved from India to Sri Lanka on account of security issues.
The players in the country boycotted the sport after Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) director Najmul Islam said that they would not be compensated if the team is withdrawn from the mega-event should the ICC refuse to relocate its matches. He also said that the players have achieved little to justify a payout.
"I've never had an experience like this. It's the first time in my life. I don't remember ever being involved in controversial talk. It's going over my head - when have I ever spoken against the country?" Mithun said.
"I don't know how to take this or describe it as it happens with me for the first time. I haven't used any word that goes against the country; I only spoke for the interest of cricket and the players.
"There is no personal issue here. Since I'm the president of an organization, if I don't talk about players' rights, what's the point of me being in this position? No one is above the country," he added.
Mithun said he hasn't yet formally informed the BCB about the threats but has come to know that even some players have received similar messages.
"I haven't informed the board. To be honest, I am not picking up calls from unknown numbers on my mobile. But I can't stop messages or voice notes on WhatsApp. I was asked about this there. It's not just me; my number is available to people because it goes to the press on behalf of CWAB.
"That's why I receive more (calls and messages). But I've heard from other players too that they have received threats, different ways and types of threats. I haven't talked to the board about this yet," he said.
"I don't even know how to take help from law enforcement because I have never gone to a police station for any legal matter in my life."
He then touched on the burning issue of whether Bangladesh should travel to India for the World Cup. Mithun said he wants the team to play the big event but not with a security threat hanging on the players.
"We definitely want player safety and security. We never want anyone to go and play under a life threat. We don't want that. But at the same time, we want the player to play in the World Cup because a World Cup is a World Cup.
"I believe the board and the Government will take a decision keeping the players' welfare in mind," he said.
Bangladesh's refusal to travel to India was preceded by the removal of pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL on BCCI's instructions amid attacks on Hindus here. Though the Indian Board did not specifically cite that as the reason, the Bangladesh government and Board expressed their anger at the decision.
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NATO, others turn down US call for help in Hormuz: Trump
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO and most of US' other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran entered the third week.
In a social media post, Trump asserted that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and he no longer felt the need for assistance from NATO countries or anyone else.
Last week, Trump had sought help from European nations and others who depend on oil supplies transiting from the Hormuz Strait to safeguard the critical waterway.
“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran's attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, have sparked increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one-way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said.
He said Australia, Japan and South Korea too have turned down his call for help.
“Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military – Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again,” Trump said.
He said that given the scale of recent military successes, the US no longer "need" or desires assistance from NATO countries, adding that it never relied on such support in the first place.
Speaking as President of the United States, the "most powerful" country in the world, "we do not need" help from anyone, Trump said.
The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israeli combine conducted airstrikes on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has effectively been shut following the US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that from Tehran's "perspective", the strait is "open". "It is only closed to Iran's enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”
Earlier in the day, a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached the country after safely sailing from the war-hit Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, the first ship, Shivalik, reached Mundra port in Gujarat.
As of now, 22 Indian vessels remain on the west side and two on the east side of the strait.
Indian authorities are in constant touch with all the relevant stakeholders in the region to secure the safe passage of the remaining ships, officials said.
