'I am not a dictator in the dressing room'

Bangladesh women's team captain Nigar Sultana Joty has found herself at the centre of controversy in recent months, accused of everything from physically assaulting juniors to influencing the careers of senior cricketers. As the chatter intensified, so did the scrutiny on her leadership.

Currently undergoing rehab at BKSP for a shinbone injury, the Bangladesh skipper sat down with Cricbuzz for an unfiltered conversation. Calm but firm, she addressed every allegation, from dressing-room "dictatorship" to her strained equations with former senior players, and reflected on the team's future heading into the India series. Excerpts:

How is your rehabilitation going at the moment?

It's going quite well. I decided to skip the NCL to focus entirely on rehab. I'd informed the board before the World Cup that I wouldn't play. For the last three to four months, I've been dealing with a shinbone injury, but I continued because the World Cup was very important. When we were in Mumbai, the doctors examined me and suggested I needed at least a four-to-six-week break. They also recommended upper-body work, endurance training, gym sessions and swimming. Since I don't have these facilities at home in Sherpur, I asked if I could stay at BKSP. That way, I could watch the NCL matches while doing my recovery work.

Did the injury affect your performance at the World Cup?

Yes, this World Cup did not go in my favour. I've always been very consistent. At the Qualifier, I scored runs in every match except two and was the second-highest run-scorer. The same happened in the previous series. Every player goes through phases where they're a bit off. This World Cup, considering how hard I worked, I could not play up to the mark. Had I been consistent, the team might have had a better chance of winning two more matches.

There is a perception that you've become a 'dictator' in the dressing room. How do you respond?

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.

Former captains Jahanara Alam and Rumana Ahmed have suggested you pushed them out of the national team. What is your response?

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.

So were you essentially just the captain for the toss?

Something like that. They (team management) saw me as not very mature, too young, so they didn't involve me in much. But when were Rumana apu, Jahanara apu and Salma apu dropped? During that period when I wasn't in the selection panel.

Let me clarify how selection works. Do I just tell the selector, "Sir, this player is good, take her" or "I don't like her, drop her"? It's not like that. When I was finally added to the think-tank, everyone gives feedback. All the coaching staff are there. Then the head coach, selectors, physio and I discuss. The physio informs about injuries, signs off and leaves.

Every member gives input for the eleven, but the final call is made by the selector and head coach. I only give feedback. The same process applies for the 15-member squad. The ultimate call is the selector's.

So why do they keep saying they were dropped because of me? I wasn't even a selector then. I wasn't on the selection panel. Why are they blaming me, and why do they have so much anger and jealousy towards me?

Why do you think your relationship with these senior players deteriorated?

Salma apu is my idol. Watching her is why I came into cricket. Playing with her and Rumana apu was a dream for us. I learned so much from watching them. Their contributions to Bangladesh women's cricket will never be forgotten. They went through a struggling phase and handed the work over to us.

But when I was given the captaincy, the problem started. I've heard, and those who were there can confirm this, that before a very important match, four or five of them decided they would not play under a junior. Before a vital match, when we should have been focused on the opposition, they were planning not to play under me.

The coaching staff had conditions for them, and they complied and played the next day. Their problem was that I'd been made captain while they were there. The main issue is acceptance. They could not accept that a girl came from nowhere and became captain while they were senior players.

Do you think your growth as a performer made them insecure?

Under Salma apu's and Rumana apu's captaincy, my batting order came after Jahanara apu. I never complained. In 2015 or 2016 during the T20 World Cup Qualifier in Thailand, Shuktara apu had a fever and no one else was available to open, so I was promoted. I scored runs there. From then people realized this girl can bat.

But in 2018, they kept me running in domestic cricket without giving me a higher batting position. I batted in the middle order for a long time, even though I was capable of batting in the top order. Later in 2018 before the Asia Cup, when Indian coaches came and saw my batting, they asked why I was batting so low and promoted me up. I started batting before Rumana apu. I kept scoring continuously.

When I started doing well consistently, media engagements started coming to me. That could also be a major reason.

There were allegations that you used abusive language or physically assaulted a junior. What actually happened?

This is a wrong accusation. Only one person said this, not multiple juniors.

About language: in the heat of the moment, I may say things like "Why didn't you pick the ball?" "You can do better," "What are you doing?" "Bowl on the stumps." Everyone says this. My voice is heard more because the mouthpiece is near me. I may get angry because I expect more from my best fielders. But why would I use abusive language? Do I seem mentally unstable? I don't come from such a family, and I have no right to verbally abuse anyone.

You can ask everyone, juniors and seniors. They'll say I'm not how I'm being described. I heard Jahanara apu alleged that someone called her in Australia saying, "Save us, Joty apu is beating us." If I hit someone, isn't there team management? Coaches? Why would someone call Australia instead of telling management? Does that make sense?

Murshida said in the 2022 NCL I slapped her. But I didn't even play in her team that year. We were in different teams. I barely spoke to her. Who saw me slap her? What proof does she have? At most I might say "What are you doing, stupid?" after a misfield. That's it.

My bonding with every player is good. Many times I can say, "Arre bhai, what are you doing, this is not happening. Do it like this." I cannot use abusive words. They don't come out of me.

The language I use with my friends in private cannot be brought here. If someone hears me joking with a friend and brings that here, it cannot be said that Joty uses abusive words. That is a baseless allegation.

What happened in Sri Lanka between you and Marufa that led to her leaving the field in tears?

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.

In the match, a crucial situation was happening. The A team and national team were neck and neck. Marufa dropped a catch. Her bowling quota was already finished. After dropping it, she was looking at her hand, meaning it had hit her hand. I was thinking about the World Cup, worried whether her hand was hurt. Her right hand is her bowling hand. There were other fielders available. So I said, "Marufa, you come off."

My concern was not wanting to risk her hand getting hit again. Since I was keeping and she was at long-on, I had to shout: "Ei Marufa, tui ber hoye ja" (Hey Marufa, you come off). That made her feel hurt.

When the game ended, I went straight to her. She's a young girl, I know her well, I love her immensely. When I reached her, she was crying and a so-called senior was comforting her. I hugged her like my little sister and said, "Baba, I asked you to come off for this reason." She told me, "Apu, I am not crying for that. I'm upset because I'm missing (catches) like this."

I said, "Don't ever think I don't trust you. I trust you a lot. But I didn't want you to lose more confidence about this." She was crying because she was upset about missing catches, not because I told her to leave the field.

Heading into the India series, how challenging will it be to restore trust in the squad?

It will be very difficult. First, a trust issue has arisen. Second, the friendly environment, the bonding between seniors and juniors, if I try to create that again, I don't know how long it will take.

When we played at the World Cup, there was no chaos, no problems. We backed each other, supported each other. One thing I want to say: you can never earn love, respect and support by raising your hand or insulting someone. You cannot force respect or love. I am earning it.

What I'm earning, I feel, will continue for those who play with my team in the future. They gave me that love, and I gave the same affection to them. I feel it will never change. Yes, maybe the team environment might be seen differently. But when we all come together again as one team, these things will gradually end.