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NEW DELHI: Bangladesh assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin has launched a strong attack on former sports adviser Asif Nazrul, accusing him of distorting facts and changing his stance over the national team’s absence from the ongoing T20 World Cup.

Salahuddin said it was incredibly hard for the players to cope with being left out of the tournament, revealing that two members of the squad were mentally shattered by the development.

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Nazrul, who had served under Bangladesh’s former interim leader Muhammad Yunus, had earlier claimed that the government decided against travelling to India due to security concerns.

However, just before resigning, he stated that the decision had been taken by the Bangladesh Cricket Board and the players.

Salahuddin questions Nazrul’s claims

"He told such blatant lies," Salahuddin told reporters.

"I am a teacher myself, and teachers generally lie a bit less. That he would say such lies so openly - I honestly can’t even imagine it. How will I even show my face in front of the boys? He took such a U-turn."

Salahuddin insisted that the players had no involvement in the decision making.

"He is a teacher at Dhaka University. A person from the highest educational institution of my country saying such lies - we can't accept this. How can we accept this? He said one thing earlier and later took a U-turn," he added.

Tournament exit and ICC decision

Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland in the tournament after refusing to travel to India for their matches.

The BCB had suggested shifting Bangladesh’s fixtures in India to co hosts Sri Lanka, but the International Cricket Council rejected the proposal and instead brought in Scotland.

Players left devastated

Salahuddin said the squad was heartbroken after learning about their exclusion from the T20 World Cup.

"Look, when a boy goes to play in a World Cup, he carries his dream - his 27-year-old dream with him. You destroy that dream in one second," said Salahuddin.

"Fine, if it's a country's decision taken for national reasons, they will sacrifice for the country. But if you talk about loss, I will talk only about personal loss. Personally, you completely ended a boy’s dream. I know that two of my players went into coma mentally for five days, completely lost," Mohammad Salahuddin added.

"For the sake of the country, I’m also ready to sacrifice many things, and the boys are ready too. But did I put my hand on a boy’s head and say, 'Son, you couldn’t play because of this?' If things had been communicated properly, I think many things could have been accepted," he added.

(With PTI Inputs)