The issue surrounding pacer Jahanara Alam has created a stir in Bangladesh’s sports community. Over an extended period, several incidents involving her have shaken the cricketing world. Nearly four years ago, Jahanara sent a detailed 13-page letter to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Chief Executive Officer, Nizamuddin Chowdhury, outlining the challenges she faced. In the letter, she accused team manager and selector Manjurul Islam Manju, the late women’s department head Touhid Mahmood, and several coaches of mistreatment. Below are the key points raised by Jahanara.
In the opening of the letter, Jahanara recounts a conversation she had with the then-coordinator, Sarfaraz Babu. She describes how Babu urged the senior players to take responsibility for resolving internal team issues ahead of a major tournament. Jahanara quotes Babu’s advice: “Look, we have a big tournament ahead of us, and we must play as one. If there are any issues within the team, you should sort them out yourselves. Touhid Bhai has made a lot of effort and is under a great deal of pressure; he might even leave his job. If there’s any fracture within the team, it’s your responsibility, as seniors, to fix it. But don’t share this with anyone else.”
In response, Jahanara expressed support for Touhid Bhai: “Touhid Bhai has done his best. Regardless of the outcome, why should he leave his job? He is trying hard, and he is fully aware of the problems within the team. So, if he wants, he can resolve everything on his own.”
Following this conversation, Jahanara alleges that team manager and selector Manju began treating her poorly. She mentions this incident on the second page of the letter: “Manju Bhai started treating me harshly on the field for no apparent reason. He yelled at me in a rude and aggressive manner. I was stunned and didn’t understand where I went wrong. The next day, I called Touhid Bhai for permission to give an interview. When he didn’t answer, I sent an SMS, but received no reply. This continued in the same way.”
On the third page, Jahanara touches upon the team formation for the Bangladesh Games and mentions issues of internal groupings. She writes: “At the time, Rumana was still the regular captain of the ODI team. For the Bangladesh Games, three teams were formed: one with Salma Apa, one with Jyoti, and the other with Sharmine as the captain. Sharmine had never captained any domestic league before. Rumana became so mentally distressed that she could not perform well in that tournament. After that, Salma Apa, Rumana, and I started facing poor treatment, and Jyoti’s prominence within the team increased.”
Jahanara further details a practice match incident where she was denied the chance to bowl due to not following instructions from selector Manju. She writes: “In our practice match, Manju Bhai told me to bowl yorkers. I tried a yorker, but it landed on the leg side. On the next ball, I bowled a good-length delivery. Since I hadn’t followed his instructions, he shouted extremely loudly from the sidelines: ‘Make sure Jahanara is not allowed to bowl again. Let someone else bowl, not Jahanara! Salma, you take over!’ The umpire and everyone on the field were taken aback.”
Throughout the 13-page letter, Jahanara highlighted several instances of internal team politics, exclusion, and mistreatment, providing a detailed account of her struggles within the national women’s cricket team.