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News that the owners of the unrecognised Indian Cricket League would meet with the International Cricket Council was welcomed in many quarters.
But few will have been as pleased as Habibul Bashar, the most successful Bangladesh skipper after leading his side a Test and 29 one-day victories.
He signed up with the ICL to captain the Dhaka Warriors team and was slapped with a 10-year-ban by the Bangladesh Cricket Board for joining the rebel league.
The other 'rebels' who followed Bashar received the same fate from the BCB officials.
Bashar said he and his colleagues were harshly treated by the BCB as they did nothing wrong by joining the ICL.
While it may be premature to think of a reconciliation and acceptance of the ICL, it holds a faint ray of hope for the likes of Bashar hoping to represent their countries again.
He spoke to Gulf News about joining the ICL and his hopes for the future.
GULF NEWS: Did you really expect that the Bangladesh Cricket Board would ban you for ten years?
BASHAR: I did not really expect it. I thought the BCB would ban us for the period we would be playing in ICL. What happened now is very harsh for all of us. We did not expect it at all.
Why did you decide to join the ICL?
It was a tough decision. I shed a lot of tears while deciding and I have my reasons.
After BCB had declared their decision, was there any talk between the organisers of the ICL and you?
The ICL has roped us in and we hope they will look after us. At the moment, we cannot say anything more.
Was there any talk regarding playing for the national team before you had signed on the dotted lines?
We were promised by the ICL authorities that they would never stand in our way if we get a call up in the national team.
So we expected a more sensible decision from the BCB.
But you were aware that all other countries had banned their cricketers for opting to play in the ICL?
See, we knew it. We also knew that Neil O'Brien, a cricketer from Ireland, was banned while he was playing in the ICL.
He was able to play for his country again after he had discontinued playing in the ICL.
Not only that, he was one of the nominees for the ICC Associate Player of the Year award.
We thought that we may be banned for the period of the tournament and get back to the national reckoning once again.
There cannot be different rules for different individuals, isn't it?
However, there is a general notion that players opting to play for the ICL would be banned by the respective cricket boards...
The ICL is not a banned tournament. It just did not get the sanction from the BCCI, but that doesn't mean the players who would play in it have to be banned. It is injustice.
So, you feel you were on the receiving end for wrong reasons?
Definitely. One can expect a ban of this extent (for ten years) for a player who is linked to match-fixing or something like that.
All we did was to join the ICL to play cricket to secure our financial future. Nothing else.
Were not you enjoying your stint with the national team?
To be true, I wasn't enjoying my time whether I was playing for Bangladesh or not. We had nothing new in front of us.
We were looking forward at opportunities to play more cricket and we have been victimised for that.
Factfile
Name: Qazi Habibul Bashar
Born: August 17, 1972, Nagakanda, Kushtia
Age: 36 years
Major teams: Bangladesh, Biman Bangladesh, Khulna Division, Dhaka Warriors
Also known as: Sumon
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak
Runs: 3,026 runs from 50 Tests; Average: 30.37
2,168 runs from 111 ODIs; Average: 21.68
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