Former Bangladesh skipper Jahanara Alam alleged that she received indecent proposals from the national team management during the 2022 World Cup. Jahanara, who took a break for mental health reasons and is currently living in Australia, accused that former pace bowler Manjurul Islam, who was acting as the women's selector and manager, did not let her shine in national colours as she was not ready to accept his indecent proposal.
She also pointed finger at the late Towhid Mahmud as she insisted that he also proposed him through Sarfaraz Babu, an employee of the Bangladesh Cricket Board. Jahanara added that former women's committee head Nadel Chowdhury could not stop Manjurul from harassing her while BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury did not pay any heed when she informed about it.
"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 better, when you are known by a few people, you cannot say or protest many things even if you want to," Jahanara was quoted in The Riasat Azim You Tube channel on Thursday.
"Look, 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. Maybe 10 girls will think, 'It's not necessary, let everyone do whatever they want,' but the world is made up of good and bad, right? I want a beautiful environment for those 10 girls, and for them to play cricket safely in a safe environment, at least," she said.
"In 2021, Touhid Bhai approached me through Babu Bhai (Coordinator Sarfraz Babu). I have said this in various places. Why they misbehaved with me, I do not know. I tried a lot to suppress this and play cricket well. But when I technically avoided it, Manju Bhai started misbehaving, humiliating and insulting me since the next day. And I was not actually used to such humiliation.
"Touhid Bhai never approached me directly; he used Babu Bhai to approach me. And when, after a year and a half, I gave my letter to the CEO, I called it an 'Observation Letter,' not a 'Complaint Letter.' I said 'Observation Letter.' I mentioned everything A to Z in the letter to the CEO on the incidents that happened. Babu Bhai told me to 'look after Touhid Sir.' So I said, 'What is there for me to look after regarding him? He is just the in-charge. What is there for me to look after regarding him? He is the highest authority, or now he is in the post after the Chairman. What is there for me to look after regarding him?' I technically avoided it this way, pretending I didn't understand the details of the proposal. I am sharing this so that if any girl deals with this later, they can deal with it this way, too. This is how Manju Bhai's bad behavior started," she said.
