Former national captain Akram Khan is among the seven directors elected unopposed in the Bangladesh Cricket Board election after no rival candidates were found in their respective categories on the final day for submission of the nomination papers on Thursday.
A total of 38 candidates had submitted their nomination papers in three categories for the October 10 election, which will elect 23 directors to join the three government nominees.
Among the directors, 10 will be from category-1, reserved for the district and divisional organisers, 12 from category-2 that is reserved for the club organisers and one from the category-3, which is for other organisations.
Of the 10 directors from category-1, two each must be from Dhaka, Chittagong and Khulna regions and one each from the other four divisions, according to the BCB constitution.
On Thursday, only two nomination papers came from Chittagong region which means Akram Khan of Chittagong Divisional Sports Association and AZM Nasir of Chittagong District Sports Association have been elected unopposed.
Sheikh Sohel of Khulna Divisional Sports Association, Kazi Inam Ahmed of Jessore District Sports Association, MA Awal Chowdhury of Barisal District Sports Association, Shafiul Alam Chowdhury Nadel of Sylhet Divisional Sports Association and Advocate Anwarul Islam of Rangpur Divisional Sports Association are the other candidates to be elected unopposed.
Four candidates – Mirza Zillur Rahman (Jamalpur District Sports Association), Manzur Kader (Munshiganj District Sports Association), Naimur Rahman (Manikganj District Sports Association)
and Sarniat Khan Bappa (Tangail District Sports Association – remained in the race for two posts earmarked for Dhaka regions, while three candidates are vying for one Rajshahi post.
A total of 21 candidates, including incumbent BCB president Nazmul Hasan, had submitted nomination papers for 12 category-2 posts.
Nazmul had earlier said he was hoping to be a BCB director as a government nominee before competing for the president post.
A cricket organiser close to Nazmul said the lawmaker can still be a government nominee provided he withdraws his candidature.
‘We have submitted 15 nomination papers from our panel. We have still some time to think before the withdrawal date of nominations,’ said Jalal Yunus, an ad hoc committee member, who is also a candidate from this category.
‘We are still working on our panel. Once it is finalised three candidates will withdraw their nomination papers. Papon [Nazmul] can easily be one of them,’ he said.
The panel, however, is unlikely to get a walkover as some candidates from the rival group have already promised to stay in the race. There is a strong chance of a hotly-contested election in category-3 where two former national captain Gazi Ashraf Hossain and Khaled Mahmud are among the candidates.
-With New Age input
