August 10, 2024

BCB Set to Meet New Sports Head as Calls for Reform Grow Louder

ICC to participating boards: “Contingency host options within the Asian region are being considered – tournament dates to remain the same”

Representatives of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) are set to meet with Asif Mahmud, the youth and sports adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government, on Sunday to discuss preparations for the Women’s T20 World Cup, which will be held in the country in October. However, a key concern in Dhaka is which top BCB officials will stay in their roles and whether the new government will implement reforms within the board.

There is speculation that, similar to the situation in 2007, the interim government might appoint an ad-hoc committee to manage the BCB. The International Cricket Council (ICC) would accept such a committee as long as there is no direct government interference, particularly if elections are held later. If there are signs of government interference, the ICC may investigate and take action. Recently, the ICC suspended Sri Lanka Cricket from November 2023 to January 2024 due to government interference.

If a new board is established, the ICC will require the BCB to appoint a representative to attend all ICC meetings. In a past instance, when an ad-hoc committee managed the BCCI, the CEO represented the BCCI at ICC meetings.

Currently, the BCB’s headquarters in Mirpur is operating with its staff, but the BCB’s chief executive, Nizamuddin Chowdhury, is managing the board’s affairs alone, as other directors, including president Nazmul Hassan, have not attended since August 5. This was when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and left for India, ending her party’s 15-year rule. Many BCB directors have ties to the Awami League, which complicates the board’s operations as the ICC event approaches. According to a BCB director who spoke anonymously, few colleagues are expected to return to work soon.

“The BCB is an elected body but if there’s any directive from the government about a change in the BCB, we have to accept it,” he said. “I don’t think many directors will appear in the BCB. If a meeting is called, the number could be five or eight [out of 24].”

Another board director, also requesting anonymity, said the main concern was the women’s T20 World Cup. “The BCB board is still there. We will hopefully get a guideline from the government, possibly tomorrow, when the board is supposed to meet the new sports adviser. We are not worried about ourselves but we have a few events coming up, like the World Cup.”

Hosting the tournament could become an issue if the ICC demands immediate security assurances from Bangladesh. The interim government took office on August 8, and while the police force is not yet fully operational, there is hope that it will be up and running soon.

BCB Directors “Had Their Own Agendas”

While the World Cup is a pressing issue, there are deeper problems in Bangladesh cricket that have persisted for over 15 years. The men’s team remains in the lower to mid-tier of international cricket and has had limited success in major ICC events. Their only significant achievement in recent years was winning the Under-19 World Cup in 2020. The men’s team failed to win any Super Eight matches in the recent T20 World Cup and managed only two wins out of nine in last year’s ODI World Cup.

Senior coach Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, known as a mentor to Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, and other top Bangladesh cricketers, believes that the BCB directors have abandoned the sport at a crucial time.

“If they were true servants of cricket, they would be here. I don’t think they were serving cricket,” he said. “They had their own agendas, which they tried to implement. We have seen what they did to cricket, whether it is club cricket or BPL. They have spoiled the whole thing.

“BCB is not a disciplined organisation. I have seen it from up close. BCB never made the best use of its opportunities. Some made intentional mistakes. We have to reduce the indiscipline within the BCB. Only then we can tackle every crisis.

“The buck stops with the leadership. If that was fine, the rest sits in place. If we are going to talk about reform, we have to think about ICC’s governance policy. We want a BCB whose vision will allow us to dream big. There has to be transparency and accountability. We have a lot of people who can do this.”

Fahim is joined by other prominent figures, such as former national players Mohammad Ashraful and Imrul Kayes, who are calling for changes in the BCB. Fans are also increasingly agreeing that the BCB needs to align with the new government’s push for reform.