Former Pakistani players have ciriticised Bangladesh ban on waving non-Bangladeshi flags at the World Twenty20 tournament event.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) made the ruling on Tuesday, on the eve of the country’s 44th Independence Day, on the day in 1971; the nation woke into the dawn of blood-stained atrocities left by Pakistani occupation forces of the black night of March 25. Thousands of people were killed on the massacre that night.
Some Pakistani and Indian media reports said the decision made criticisms among former Pakistani cricketers.
Former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad termed the move as violation of the cricketing spirit.
Miandad said: “I am surprised at the decision, Cricket is a game which harbors sportsman spirit and this decision violates that spirit.”
Another former captain of Pakistan, Mohammad Yousuf, urged the BCB to rethink the decision.
“I am sure that the BCB will take this decision back because it defies logic and I am sure the International
Younis Khan, another former captain of Pakistan, agreed Bangladesh should reconsider their decision.
“It is against the spirit of the game as you cannot stop anyone from supporting his favourite team,” he said.
Yousuf, who played 90 Tests and 288 ODIs for Pakistan, said he had always been warmly received in Bangladesh.
“I have seen the home fans want to support Pakistan whenever their own team is not competing against us,” he said.
Three million Bangladeshi people were killed and millions became homeless by the atrocity of Pakistan army during the 1971 liberation war. After a remarkable resistance of people they were forced to surrender and new country named Bangladesh was formed.
However, Pakistan never apologized for such heinous and one of the most brutal killings of the human history.
Bangladesh and Pakistan will face each other in a crucial World T20 group encounter in Mirpur on Sunday.
