Sujon urges for ‘professional attitude’ from cricketers 

Arranged by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) cricket operations committee, the national team cricketers had a lunch meeting at a hotel in the capital today ahead of their white-ball tour of Zimbabwe later this month. 

The intention behind the meeting was to strengthen the bonding between players and create a healthy cricketing culture within the team. Bangladesh team director Khaled Mahmud Sujon, who was present in the meeting, talked about bringing professionalism among players both on and off the field.  

"I think it's a players' personal matter [what they post on social media] and I cannot say anything about that. But I have given a clear message to the boys that they need to have a professional attitude," Mahmud said when asked regarding Mushfiqur Rahim's recent Facebook posts that created a lot of controversies. 

Mushfiqur's post on July 21 included footage of him doing running sessions with a caption that read: "Assalamualaikum all..happiness is this when most of them r sleeping and u do the dirty hard work."

Just a day later, Mushfiqur posted a picture of him taking rest in the dressing room, seemingly after yet another exhausting practice session. What sparked up controversies were the suggestive emojis -- sleeping, thinking and shushing -- used as the caption for this post.  

"We have to develop our cricket culture. Yes, if someone gets dropped from the team he might feel bad or those who get into the team will feel happy. Cricket is a psychological game and you feel the mental pressure. The reason why we are unable to play well is often due to a lack of mental toughness. So until we are able to develop a cricket culture, we cannot be a good side. 

"My family doesn't know what is happening in my professional life or I don't disclose my family issues at my office. So it's pretty similar and it's important to maintain this in order to become a professional side. Since cricket [Bangladesh team] is a family and it's not good if the internal matters are leaked outside. We discussed such things [at the meeting today] and I think it's high time to develop our culture," Mahmud added on the matter.

According to Mahmud, players who represent the national team are the icons of the nation and need to act responsibly in the coming days.

"People learn from their mistakes. And we all make mistakes. But I feel that such mistakes won't be repeated again after this day. I think everyone will act responsibly as the ones who represent the national team are icons of the country. Not just on the field, but they also have responsibility off it," he said.