I received an ICL offer through an agent of $2.1 million for a three-year contract. But when I heard that I could not play for Bangladesh I straightaway refused the offer.

I informed the Board's Cricket Operations Committee Chairman Gazi Ashraf Hossain, the Chairman of Selectors and my coach Wahidul Ghani and discussed the offer with them. The Chairman told me that joining the ICL would stop me from representing Bangladesh. On the other hand there was a good chance that more Bangladesh players might be getting Indian Premier League (IPL) contracts this season.

If I had any idea that so many players were actually joining then I definitely would have informed the Board. I went to England on a vacation after returning from Australia and did a couple of charity fund-raising projects there for the Cyclone Sidr victims. I only came to know about the players going to the ICL from newspapers while I was in the UK.  
 
I have heard that I am being projected as the mastermind but those stories, about me introducing the Bangladesh ICL players to the agent involved, are totally wrong. I have never met that agent and only speak to him over phone. He is well known to many Bangladesh players and he has arranged sponsors for a number of local players and has helped them in getting club cricket contracts in England. I believe he contacted them directly.
 
If players are saying I assured them I would be joining the ICL too, I would have preferred they said that in front of me. I don't know why players are saying all those things. When I declined the offer everyone close to me including the Board knew about it even before we left for Australia. It was no secret.
 
I read somewhere that a couple of the guys had remarked that I wanted them out of the way as they could have been future captains. If they knew they were captaincy material then why an earth would they want to leave?
 
If some people had held grudges they never told us. Professional players should understand that if you are out of the side that means you are not performing. There is no way in the world that you will be left out when you have performance to back you up.
 
For example my captaincy is now being criticized by the media. It is not because of the way I do the field-placements or field. It is because I am not delivering with the bat. Players don't get selected by the coach, captain or the selectors. They get themselves selected through performance and this is applicable to any level of cricket you play.
 
Even if I lose captaincy I would not consider joining the ICL because I want to play Tests and ODIs for Bangladesh. If I am dropped for form I know that I can bounce back even if it takes two years because I have age on my side. I am 24 now and I believe I have at least ten years of international cricket left in me and batsmen are usually at the peak of their prowess at 26-27. Nothing is more important to me than representing the country.
 
When we were leaving for Australia, the coach (Jamie Siddons) told me that there were mutterings that some players could be signing for the ICL. When we asked the players they all denied interest straightaway
 
The ICL is a competition that is not recognized by the ICC and BCB. I would only think of joining something like the ICL if it received clearance from the game's governing body or the Board. I don't want to comment on their collective decision but I believe if those players still want to return the door is open for them and the BCB would do everything to facilitate them.
 
Ultimately, we have lost 14 out of roughly 160 first-class cricketers. The players joining the ICL have lost out on more I guess because they can't play international or first-class cricket and there will be others to fill in the gap. It is true that we will miss their experience to a certain extent because they had played top-level cricket for a number of years but the newer guys will gain experience the same way.