The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) has excluded legendary Bangladeshi footballer Kazi Salahuddin and premier cricketer Shakib Al Hasan from the newly published English for Today textbook for Class VII.
In Unit Seven, titled "Games and Sports," the textbook initially featured pictures of eight renowned sports figures worldwide when first introduced in 2013. Alongside Salahuddin and Shakib, the section previously included Brazilian football icon Pele, West Indies cricket star Brian Lara, Bangladeshi mountaineer Nishat Majumdar, American tennis legend Serena Williams, Argentine football great Diego Maradona, and Indian cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar. However, the latest edition has replaced Salahuddin, Shakib, and Tendulkar's pictures with those of Bangladesh football team captain Jamal Bhuiyan, Bangladesh women's cricket captain Nigar Sultana Jyoti, and celebrated Bangladeshi chess player Rani Hamid.
Additionally, separate lessons on Shakib and Salahuddin's sporting careers have also been removed from the updated version of the textbook.
