Former Bangladesh Cricket Board president Saber Hossain Chowdhury hosted a Doa and Ifter party on Sunday which was viewed as a pre-election showdown of the Bangladesh Cricket Board.
Saber, who recently expressed his willingness to run for the president’s post in the BCB election, had invited the presidents and the general secretaries of Dhaka-based clubs and the representatives of the district and divisional sports associations at his Ifter party.
Former national captains and former BCB presidents and general secretaries were also invited at the party. Members of the ad hoc committee, which is at the helm of BCB affairs, were also invited.
However, none of the ad hoc committee members, some whom were in the BCB with Saber in the late 1990s and early 2000s, attended the programme.
Former national captains, who are now serving the BCB in one or other capacity, also avoided the programme.
Among the former national captains, only Shamim Kabir, Roquibul Hassan, Khaled Mashud and Mohammad Ashraful attended the Iftar party.
Saber in his speech prior to the Ifter party, however, did not entertain any question regarding BCB election and said his programme was just an attempt to reunite with his cricketing colleagues.
Saber, a member of the parliament from ruling Awami League, served as the BCB president from 1997 to 2001 and was instrumental in Bangladesh’s achieving the Test status in 2000.
His decision to make an attempt to return to the BCB sparked a mixed reaction as many organisers expressed their willingness to welcome him while some others opposed the move.
Incumbent BCB president Nazmul Hasan, upon his arrival from the ICC annual conference, threatened to unmask Saber, triggering a war of words, which the latter said on some occasions that he had preferred to avoid.
Saber remained strongly critical of the current ad hoc committee and the National Sports Council for the controversial amendments to the BCB constitution, which has been challenged in court.
A BCB election is long overdue after the tenure of the previous committee expired in November last year. The ad hoc committee, led by Nazmul, took over on November 27, with a mandate of holding the elections within three months.
However, the election process remained stalled as it could not be decided which of the constitutions – whether the previous one adopted in 2008 or the one amended twice in March and November 2012 – would be followed.
BCB president Nazmul recently told reporters they will ask the NSC to start the election process within a month and the rest will depend on them.
-With New Age input
