The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), under the leadership of Aminul Islam, has taken a decisive and long-overdue step to protect the integrity of Bangladesh cricket. Under the new framework, media access to the national team will be strictly regulated, limited to match days, official press conferences, formally invited events, and designated practice sessions as communicated by the board.
Predictably, this move has triggered outrage from sections of the Bangladeshi sports media. But outrage was inevitable. Because this decision does not merely restrict access, it dismantles an ecosystem of entitlement, manipulation, and long-standing media excess.
What the New Rules Say and Why They Matter
According to reports from Star News, the BCB formally informed the Bangladesh Sports Press Association (BSPA) that:
Media accreditation will be issued only to outlets registered under Bangladesh’s ICT Ministry
Unlicensed YouTubers and TikTokers will be barred from unrestricted access
The BSPA has rejected the decision outright
The backlash was instant. Yet, from the perspective of professionalism and national interest, this is one of the most productive decisions the BCB has taken in years.
The Rot of the “Open Access” Era
For over a decade, particularly during what many now describe as a fascist era, Bangladesh’s sports journalism ceased to resemble journalism at all. Cricket venues became open playgrounds where certain media personalities functioned less like reporters and more like personal aides, image managers, and ideological mouthpieces for powerful players and political interests.
This culture insulted journalism itself.
Journalists followed players into dressing rooms, hotels, and private spaces. Sensitive team information leaked freely. Cult figures were manufactured to distract public scrutiny. Syndicates emerged, quietly, gradually, until Bangladesh cricket began to decay from within. The damage was not sudden; it was necrotic. Slow. Internal. Devastating.
A Media With No Moral Authority
Bangladesh’s mainstream media has no credibility left to lecture institutions about ethics. The nation has watched how these outlets behaved over the last 15 years, how they aligned themselves with authoritarian power, how they reshaped narratives overnight after 2024, and how they continue to serve foreign interests while attempting to destabilize domestic institutions to resurrect discredited politics.
This is not speculation. It is record.
No one understands this better than Aminul Islam. He has lived through it, from inside the system. His decision is not impulsive. It is corrective.
Why Aminul Islam Refuses to Bend
Whether it was the Mustafizur Rahman issue, the T20 World Cup controversies, or now media access restrictions, Aminul Islam has remained firm. That firmness is precisely what irritates the media.
Instead of acknowledging the need for reform, they have chosen to attack the man enforcing it.
That tells us everything.
The Hathurusingha Parallel: Media Versus Authority
The current backlash mirrors an older pattern. During the Bangladesh–South Africa series, reports from Prothom Alo highlighted how the national team, under head coach Chandika Hathurusingha, restricted media access, conducted closed training sessions, and declined interviews.
Hathurusingha has faced relentless hostility from sections of Bangladeshi sports journalism since 2014, despite transforming Bangladesh into a competitive international side. Players like Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, and Mahmudullah Riyad have consistently backed his methods. Yet the media preferred to label him “autocratic” and “rude.”
Why?
Because he refused to play their game.
A coach enforcing discipline, privacy, and professionalism threatens a media culture built on proximity, gossip, and leverage.
Journalism or Superiority Complex?
The deeper issue is entitlement. A section of Bangladesh’s sports media believes access is a right, not a privilege. When denied, retaliation follows: twisted quotes, hostile headlines, character assassination.
We have seen this with administrators, players, and coaches alike. Nazmul Hassan’s comments, Mushfiqur Rahim’s silences, Soumya Sarkar and Liton Das avoiding certain journalists, all were weaponized into narratives of crisis.
One must ask honestly: what has this media contributed to Bangladesh cricket beyond noise?
There are excellent journalists in Bangladesh, but they are drowned out by those who lack technical knowledge, ethical discipline, and professional restraint.
The Syndicate Culture Must End
The unhealthy intimacy between certain journalists and powerful cricketers created a media-player syndicate that thrived on access and manipulation. This culture distorted public discourse, destabilized team environments, and undermined coaches, from Heath Streak to Thilan Samaraweera.
Aminul Islam’s intervention directly challenges this structure.
That is why it hurts.
This Is Leadership, Not Suppression
A free press does not mean an unaccountable press.
Aminul Islam’s decision is not anti-media; it is anti-corruption, anti-manipulation, and pro-professionalism. Bangladesh cricket cannot progress while being held hostage by entitlement masquerading as journalism.
The media had years to reform itself. It chose not to.
Now the institution has stepped in.
And for once, Bangladesh cricket is better for it.
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
