Bangladesh women’s team captain Nigar Sultana Joty has been in certain conundrum in recent times, or specifically, in recent months, from claims of to accusations of influencing the careers of seniors.
As these conversations kept growing, questions around her leadership also intensified.
Currently going through rehab at BKSP for a shinbone injury, Joty was asked whether she behaves like a dictator inside the dressing room. She firmly denied that perception, saying, “I am definitely not a dictator. Every player has a place in the dressing room, and I have the same.
“Yes, as captain I may get respect differently, but the benefits and treatment are the same for everyone. I don’t know who is saying these things or why. It’s become visible now who is behind it. Look, I’ve been captain for a long time. I don’t expect everyone to like me. But I know what I’m doing for the team and what my intentions truly are.”
She explained in simpler terms that she is not someone who tries to impose control and that every player gets equal treatment. She said she knows her intentions and is aware that not everyone will like her, but she is clear about what she wants for the team.
The discussion then shifted to the claims made by former captains Jahanara Alam and Rumana Ahmed, who suggested that she played a role in pushing them out of the national side. Joty responded strongly, saying, “I’ve been hearing this for a long time: that I removed them because they were performers, captain candidates.
“First, what is a syndicate? I’ve been playing for the national team since 2015, sharing the dressing room with seniors. I never saw anything like this. In any dressing room, not everyone becomes your close friend. With eleven players, you have eleven different types of relationships. That’s normal. But if they say I removed them through a syndicate… who am I to remove someone? Am I a selector?
When I became captain in 2021, I wasn’t added to the selection panel until the Australia series in 2023. Before that, I had no involvement in selection discussions. Other players would go to team meetings not knowing the eleven; I didn’t know either. There was never any discussion with me about the 15 or 18-member squad. You can cross-check this with the board.
Once in New Zealand, when Hashan Tillakaratne was coach, Rumana apu, Salma apu and maybe Jahanara apu were rested or didn’t play. Salma apu told me, ‘You have made us sit out.’ I said, ‘Salma apu, please believe me, I know nothing about this. I found out the eleven the same way you did.’ She replied, ‘So are you just here to do the toss as captain?’ I had to hear things like that.” she added.
The Sri Lanka incident involving pacer Marufa Akter, where she walked off the field in tears, also came up. Joty said the narrative being spread around the incident is one-sided and gave her version of what unfolded. She explained that things were being misrepresented and shared the sequence clearly:
“People are presenting this negatively. Let me tell you what actually happened. In Sri Lanka before the T20 World Cup, we were playing with the A team. From the Pakistan series onwards, Marufa was having problems with high catching. But Marufa is one of the best fielders in my team, and I trust her blindly. She runs very fast, her hitting and throwing are excellent. She’s an asset. But catching was becoming her weakness.
I told her during practice, ‘Baba, you’re having this problem. Please do extra work on catching. This will hurt us because you field in vital positions. If a catch drops there in T20, we fall behind.’ She said, ‘Yes apu, I’m thinking about it, I’m trying.’ But she kept dropping similar catches in practice.”
She said that during the match, the scores were close and Marufa dropped another catch that hit her on the hand, her bowling hand. Since she had already finished her overs and Joty was worried about her getting hurt again, she told her to come off the field.
From behind the stumps, she had to shout loudly to get her attention, which hurt Marufa. After the match, Joty approached her immediately. She said Marufa was already emotional because she was upset with her own catching, not because she was taken off the field. Joty reassured her that she trusted her completely and only wanted to protect her confidence and prevent injury.
The current skipper said her issues with the senior players didn’t exist in the early years. She always looked up to them, respected what they had done for Bangladesh cricket, and considered it a privilege to share the field with them.
According to her, the relationship began to weaken only after she was appointed captain. She later learned and says others who were present at the time can confirm- that before a crucial match, a group of senior players had discussed not taking the field because they didn’t want to be led by someone younger. At a time when the team should have been focusing on the game, they were instead debating whether they should play under her captaincy.
The 28-year-old mentioned that the coaching staff eventually intervened, set certain conditions, and the seniors agreed to play the following day. In her view, the real issue was acceptance. The seniors, she felt, were unable to digest the fact that a younger player, someone who had come into the team after them, had been chosen to lead while they were still active in the setup.