‘Am i Harmanpreet ?’: Bangladesh’s Nigar Sultana addresses Jahanara Alam’s assault allegations by referencing Indian skipper

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Bangladesh women’s cricket captain Nigar Sultana Joty has vehemently denied serious allegations of physically assaulting and misbehaving with junior players in the national team. The controversy erupted after pacer Jahanara Alam, currently based in Australia, made the claims in a recent media interview, alleging junior players had reached out to her for help. Responding to the accusations, Nigar Sultana dismissed them as baseless and questioned the timing of the complaints surfacing now, years after Jahanara left the team.

Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana  firmly rejected the severe accusations made by pacer Jahanara, who alleged Nigar Sultana had misbehaved with and hit younger players, even claiming a junior was slapped during a prior tour. Joty expressed disbelief at the claims, rhetorically questioning why she would resort to such physical violence against her teammates. She made a pointed and controversial reference to a high-profile incident involving the Indian captain to illustrate the absurdity of the claims made against her.

Nigar Sultana was quoted as saying by the NDTV Sports: “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?” This remark directly referenced Harmanpreet Kaur’s infamous outburst during the 2023 tour of Bangladesh, when the Indian captain had smashed the stumps in anger after being given out leg-before. Sultana conceded that frustration might lead to isolated actions, but only in a private context.

Nigar Sultana continued: “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.” She further challenged the basis of the accusation, questioning the need for physical confrontation: “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,” appealing to the wider squad for verification.

Also READ: BCB responds after Jahanara Alam accuses former selector of sexual harassment

Nigar Sultana not only denied the allegations but also directly questioned the credibility and motives behind Jahanara Alam’s claims, especially given Alam’s prolonged absence from the team setup.

Joty stated her character had been unfairly maligned by the description given to the public and refuted the specific claim Jahanara made, detailing what she had heard: “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.” The captain strongly countered the logic of junior players contacting a former player living abroad instead of the current team hierarchy.

Joty pointed out that Alam “hasn’t been here for six or seven years and has gone off to Australia,” making her an unlikely first contact for current players. She then challenged the idea that she could act unilaterally if the claims were true, questioning the role of the support staff and BCB officials. Joty asked: “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 implied that if such a serious incident had occurred, the players would have immediately reported it to board officials or team management instead of phoning someone living abroad.

Also READ: Harmanpreet Kaur picks her favourite men’s cricketer between MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli

This article was first published at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times company.