Allegations spark storm within Bangladesh women’s cricket
The Bangladesh women’s cricket team is under the spotlight following explosive allegations from former pacer Jahanara Alam, who accused current captain Nigar Sultana of repeatedly assaulting junior teammates. Alam, speaking to Bangladesh-based newspaper Kaler kantha, claimed that multiple players came forward to her with troubling stories.
“This is nothing new. Joty beats up the juniors a lot. Even during this World Cup, the juniors told me, ‘No, I won’t do this again. Then I’ll have to get slapped again.’ I heard from some people, ‘I got beaten up yesterday.’ Even during the Dubai tour, she called a junior into the room and slapped her,” Alam alleged.
Her comments ignited a fierce debate within Bangladesh cricket, with concerns about player welfare and team environment coming into sharp focus.
Sultana denies claims, draws comparison to Harmanpreet incident
Responding to the allegations, Nigar Sultana has strongly denied any wrongdoing and pushed back with a pointed reference to India’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur — who infamously smashed the stumps in protest during a match during India’s 2023 white-ball tour of Bangladesh.
“Why would I hit anyone? I mean, why would I strike the stumps with my bat? Am I Harmanpreet, that I would go around hitting the stumps like that? Why would I do it? In my personal space, if I’m cooking or something, I might bang my bat around, I might hit my helmet – that’s my own business,” Sultana said in an interview with Daily Cricket.
“But why would I do something like that to someone else? Why would I get physical? Just because someone says so? You can ask the other players or anyone else whether I’ve ever done anything like that.”
The Bangladesh Cricket Board has publicly backed Sultana, indicating confidence in her leadership and the internal processes of the team.
Captain questions timing and source of allegations
Sultana also raised doubts about the credibility of the claims, questioning why junior players would report such incidents to someone no longer part of the team and living abroad.
“The way I’ve been described in front of everyone — I’m not that kind of girl at all. First, I heard that Jahanara apu has made an allegation about me, saying that someone called her in Australia and said, ‘Please save us, Jyoti apu is beating us and finishing us off.’ What I’m trying to say is: someone who hasn’t been here for six or seven years and has gone off to Australia — if I really beat someone or harmed someone in any way, is there no team management, no manager, no coaching staff? Am I the ultimate authority then?” she said in the same interview.
She continued, “What I mean is, if this player had a problem, why would she call Jahanara apu all the way in Australia? She could’ve shared it with anyone here.”
The Harmanpreet reference and its context
Sultana’s reference to Harmanpreet Kaur was not random. In July 2023, during the final ODI between India and Bangladesh in Mirpur, Kaur reacted furiously to a controversial dismissal by striking the stumps with her bat and arguing with the umpire. The Indian team had expressed discontent over several umpiring decisions in that match, which ended in a rare 1-1 series draw.
“A lot of learning from this game. Even apart from the cricket, the type of umpiring that was happening there, we were very surprised,” Harmanpreet had said during the post-match presentation.
Kaur was later handed a two-match suspension for her actions.
What’s next for Bangladesh women’s cricket?
Bangladesh finished seventh in the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup, managing just one win in seven matches. While the team has shown promise, the current controversy threatens to overshadow their progress and may invite further scrutiny of the team’s internal dynamics and leadership.
With the national board backing Sultana and no formal complaint lodged yet, the situation remains fluid — but far from settled.
