BCB Councillorship
Jalal at the heart of top controversy
The Bangladesh Cricket Board’s high-profile media committee chairman Jalal Yunus was at the centre of controversy as the deadline to submit the names of councillors passed on Tuesday.
Jalal had submitted his name as the councillor for second-division side Rayer Bazar Athletics Club on September 18, the very first day that councillorship forms were distributed, but the club said in a letter to the BCB on Tuesday that it did not receive a form at all.
The letter also said that the club had already adopted a resolution naming Reaz Ahmed Babu as its councillor, and anyone other than him representing the club would be subject to legal action.
Jalal, a member of the BCB’s ad hoc committee, denied the allegation that he faked the councillorship and claimed that he had received approval for his councillorship from the right authority.
‘It is absolute rubbish that I have faked my councillorship,’ Jalal said on Tuesday.
‘I have a long association with the club and they promised me the councillorship well in advance. Now if someone comes with an allegation he must have other motivation.’
The councillorships of some top organisers were a hot topic on deadline day, though there were no other major controversies. Reigning Dhaka Premier League champions Victoria Sporting Club dramatically named little-known businessmen Azizur Rahman and Mohammad Zahir as their councillors after it had been reported earlier that club secretary Nesaruddin Kajol would get one nomination.
The names of all 178 councillors could not be confirmed immediately, but there were no high-profile absentees.
BCB president Nazmul Hasan received his councillorship from Abahani Limited, along with Shayaan F Rahman, while Mahbub Anam and Lokman Hossain Bhuyan were nominated by Mohammedan Sporting Club. Ismail Haider Mallick, widely known as the right hand of Nazmul, had to go from his Abahani club all the way to Gopibagh to secure a councillorship from Brothers Union.
Gazi Tanks selected current owner Lutfar Rahman and previous owner Gazi Golam Dastagir Bappa, while BCB cricket operations chief Enayet Hossain had his name submitted by Azad Sporting Club.
Surjo Tarun, who were controversially demoted to the first division, named ad hoc committee member Afzalur Rahman as their councillor.
Former national captain Naimur Rahman managed to get his councillorship
from Manikganj, which abandoned Dewan Shafiul Arefin. Arefin, a former BCB director and chief backer of Saber Hossain Chowdhury, secured his councillorship from Dhaka.
Ali Ahsan Babu, another Saber supporter, was ignored by Bangladesh Biman,his long-standing club, but was finally embraced by Cricket Coaching School.
GS Hasan and Aziz al Kaiser, both known to be in the Saber camp, were named councillors from Green Leaf Sporting Club and Partex Club respectively.
Current ad hoc committee members Ahmed Sazzadul Alam and Gazi Ashraf Hossain are expected to become councillors through the National Sports Council and the players’ quota.
-With New Age input
