Bangladesh quick Tanzim Hasan apologises to BCB for vicious Facebook posts

Bangladesh speedster Tanzim Hasan has issued an apology to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) for some offensive Facebook posts he shared years ago. Notably, the posts have resurfaced after he has made his international debut in the recently concluded Asia Cup.

BCB cricket operations head Jalal Yunus stated that Tanzim was sorry for his actions and accepted full responsibility for some of them dating back to 2014. Moreover, almost four posts have been deleted after it went viral after his ODI debut against India on September 15.

"A working woman will not allow her husband or children to have their way with her; she loses her charm, destroys her family, her purdah, and the society," he wrote on Facebook in Bangla on September 22, last year.

In April 2023, the cricketer shared a photo, reportedly taken in 1954 of a woman wearing a burqa and riding in a rickshaw, probably with her family, and he described it as a "golden past."

"If you marry a girl who mingles freely in the university, you can't get your child a demure mother," the 20-year-old had written another post (date unknown). Notably, when Tanzim was around 11 years old in 2014, he wrote a post about not honouring Bangladesh's victory day (December 16).

We have warned him that if he posts something on Facebook in the future, the BCB will monitor him: Yunus

Jalal Yunus, BCB director, said that he spoke to Tanzim Hasan about the matter and he apologized for the post and said it was not meant to hurt anyone. Yunus also stated that the cricketer was warned by him and the board will begin to observe him. He added that he would experience strict action if he continued to do the same.

"The cricket operations committee spoke to Tanzim Sakib on behalf of the Bangladesh Cricket Board. The media committee also got in touch with him. We informed Tanzim about the discussions surrounding his Facebook posts. He said that he didn't write those posts to hurt anyone. He wrote it for himself, not targeting anyone. If those posts have hurt anyone's feelings, he said he was sorry.

"He said that the posts he has made about women, he takes full responsibility. He said that he is not a misogynist. We have warned him that if he posts something on Facebook in the future, the BCB will monitor him.

"We are keeping an eye on this area [his mindset]. We will monitor him. His family is concerned too. They didn't expect such a situation. They are also sorry. We have given him a warning because he is a young player, and a World Cup is ahead. If he does something like this again, we will take action against him. If there's a [psychological] problem, we will provide support," Yunus said at a press conference at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Tuesday.