Papon the loose cannon

Nazmul Hassan Papon recently stepped down as the president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) after spending 12 years at the post. Bangladesh cricket reached some sporadic highs in his tenure but overall, his administration was blighted by allegations of nepotism, corruption as well as sub-par performances over long periods for the men's and women's national teams. Papon's tendency of stirring up controversy with his words, pulling back the curtain on the national team dressing room and bringing up matters which would have been better left untold, made him a colorful figure in the country's cricket. But his loose mouthed nature only added to the chaos, turning a bad situation even worse. Following are a few of his most controversial remarks:

"Mushfiqur's father, Miraz's aunt... beat up someone in some village or so, I had to solve all of that from abroad. These [claims] are a shock to me."

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Papon said regarding the players protest over pay-rise in October 2019.

"I was really surprised to see they chose to bat because it was decided the day before [that we would bowl if won the toss]. Both coach and captain said they would take fielding. It was decided. Then when I saw we won the toss and chose to bat, that was the first shock for me."

Papon on Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque's decision to bat first against India during the pink-ball Test in November 2019 in Kolkata.

"Our main focus is the next World Cup, not this one. You can't change everything overnight. We are planning long-term and trying to prepare a squad for the next World Cup. Even if the upcoming World Cup does not go well for us, I won't be disappointed."

Papon said this, in September 2022, about Bangladesh's short-term and long-term plans regarding the T20 World Cup in the following month and the one in mid-2024.

"This is not a healthy dressing room, this I can guarantee you. This thing [rift between Shakib and Tamim], it's not that I have not tried to sort it out. I have spoken with both of them and I felt that it will not be easy to settle the issues [between them] at the moment. This is my observation,"

The former board president opening up a can of worms, quite unprovoked, when he told the media in February last year that there was a rift between Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan.

"These are rumours. When I was with the team, I neither said nor heard about this. Some people are saying that the atmosphere in the dressing room is not good. I don't know, I haven't seen anything like that."

Papon taking a U-turn a few days later.

"I'm not the same person I used to be. I have not been with the team for the last three-and-a-half years.… I am voluntarily staying detached from the team."

Papon said in July this year, on mending his ways of meddling with the team, following the T20 World Cup.