Bangladesh cricket probes sexual harassment claims by former women’s captain Jahanara Alam

DHAKA (Agencies): The Bangladesh Cricket Board has opened an inquiry after former women’s captain Jahanara Alam accused former and serving officials of sexual harassment. The 32-year-old pacer, in an interview on a YouTube channel, accused officials including then selector and manager Manjurul Islam of sexual harassment during the 2022 Women’s World Cup in South Africa. Manjurul, who is currently in China, rejected the allegations as “baseless”. Describing an incident during the 2022 World Cup, Jahanara alleged that Manjurul “made inappropriate physical contact”, claiming he “often hugged or pressed female players to his chest” under the pretext of encouragement. “You can ask other girls in the team”, Manjurul said. “This is all false.” Manjurul, 46, a former left-arm seamer, played 12 Tests and 34 ODIs for Bangladesh between 1999 and 2004, before serving in various coaching and managerial roles. Jahanara took 48 wickets in ODIs, and 60 in T20s, across 135 white-ball matches for her country. She also named other BCB officials, and said that she had previously written to the board, but that no action had been taken. The BCB said a committee would submit its findings within 15 working days. It reaffirmed its commitment to a “safe, respectful, and professional environment”, it said in a statement late on Thursday.  “We have to investigate this, since it’s a serious matter,” BCB vice-president Shakhawat Hossain said.