Dozens are lining up to become directors of the Bangladesh Cricket Board after the Supreme Court allowed the organisation to hold its executive body election
under a constitution amended by the National Sports Council.
No sooner had the court directive come than the Nazmul Hasan-led ad-hoc committee members started preparing for the election, in which candidates will vie to become members of the Board of Directors. The board in turn will vote for the next president for the first time in the history of Bangladesh.
However, their opponents, led by former BCB president Saber Hossain Chowdhury, remained watchful before making a final decision after failing to get a decision from court in their favour.
Leaders of the district and divisional forum, most of whom supported Saber for BCB presidency, said they would also follow the process of councillor nominations before making their decision.
The 27-member board is to be made up of 10 club councillors, 12 Division and District Sports Association (DSA) councillors, three NSC representatives, a players’ representative and the board-elected president.
It was learned that, after the court order, Nazmul had asked two of his ad-hoc committee members, Ismail Haider Mallick and AZM Nasir, to look into potential candidates from clubs and the DSAs respectively.
Mallick said that they are ready to participate in the election and have already done some homework on their panel of candidates from the club-based organisers.
Ad-hoc committee members Ahmed Sazzadul Alam, Jalal Younus, Mahbub Anam, Enayet Hossain Siraj, Lokman Hossain Bhuiyan, Gazi Golam Murtaza and Mallick are all expected to be on the panel barring any dramatic changes in their positions.
Tanzil Ahmed of Prime Bank, Ahmed Iqbal Hasan
of Young Pegasus, Manzur Kader of Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club and Hanif Bhuiyan of Mohammedan SC are expected to complete the panel.
‘Whether [Nazmul] contests the election or joins the board as a nominee of the National Sports Council will depend on the twists and turns of events,’ Mallick told New Age on Friday.
While Mallick was confident about his panel of club councillors, Nasir seemed cautious in his approach regarding the DSA councillors.
‘We still have not asked for the names of councillors from the DSA, so it is difficult to announce a panel overnight,’ said Nasir. ‘We will see who comes from his respective divisional and district association before we decide our panel.’
Naimur Rahman and Khaled Mahmud, two other members of the ad-hoc committee, may return as Dhaka Division councillor and NSC nominee respectively. Mahmud could be joined by current chief selector Akram Khan in the NSC quota.
Gazi Ashraf Hossain, another ad-hoc committee member, could become a director via either the players’ quota or the NSC quota provided he decides against submitting an application for the chief executive officer post, as speculated by many in the BCB.
Former BCB president Saber, who had earlier publicly announced his intention to participate in the election and recently hosted an Iftar party as a part of his campaign, appeared to have taken a wait-and-see approach after the court order.
‘Let us see what verdict the court gives, as the matter is still unresolved,’ Saber told New Age on Friday. ‘The Supreme Court has yet to rule on the legality of the NSC’s amendments to the BCB constitution.
‘Unless that is done it would be difficult for me to make a decision, as a lot of things depend on the outcome of legal battle.’
Meanwhile, the District and Divisional Forum leaders are in two minds about participating in the BCB election, as a clause in the amended constitution had reduced their chances of becoming councillors.
‘We are naturally interested in participating in the election but it will largely depend on what criteria the councilors will be selected,’ said Forum leader Ashiqur Rahman Miku.
‘If there is unnecessary interference from the deputy commissioners in choosing the councillors then we might have to think otherwise,’ he added.
Former board director Sirajuddin Mohammad Alamgir warned that they might boycott all playing activities in the DSA if it is found that the councillors are chosen based on political backing.
‘If that happens, we will have no choice but to boycott all cricketing activities in our respective districts,’ said Seraj.
The BCB is expected to place a formal request for an election after its meeting on July 29.
-With New Age input
