Bangladesh‘s National Sports Council on Tuesday officially dissolved the Aminul Islam-led Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and appointed former captain and opening batter, Tamim Iqbal, as the president of the ad-hoc committee. According to the Daily Star, the development was confirmed by NSC Sports Director Aminul Ehsan, who also presented the report submitted by the council-formed investigation committee. The report had found several irregularities during last year’s BCB elections on October 6.
The official also said the report was shared with the International Cricket Council (ICC), and the Jay Shah-led board was informed of the formation of the 11-member ad-hoc committee. The newly formed committee will also be assigned to hold a new election for the BCB within the next three months.
The 11-member ad hoc committee consists of: Tamim Iqbal (President), Rashna Imam, Miza Yasir Abbas, Syed Ibrahim Ahmed, Israfil Khosru, Minhajul Abedin Nannu, Athar Ali Khan, Tanvir Chowdhury, Salman Ispahani, Rafiqul Islam Babu, and Fahim Sinha.
Islam was at the centre of the T20 World Cup fiasco, after the BCB refused to send the men’s team to India for the 20-team tournament. The entire row erupted after the BCCI ordered the three-time champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), to release pacer Mustafizur Rahman from their squad due to rising tensions between India and Bangladesh.
Once Mustafizur was released, Bangladesh held its ground, demanding that its matches be shifted to Sri Lanka. However, the ICC conducted an independent risk assessment and found no security concerns. However, the BCB chief Islam held his ground, and in the end, Bangladesh were booted out of the tournament and replaced by Scotland in Group C.
Once Bangladesh were shown the door, Pakistan also jumped in, threatening to first boycott the tournament and then refusing to take the field against India. However, neither of these things happened after the ICC delegation gave certain assurances to Bangladesh, such as the hosting rights for one event before 2028, most likely the next U19 World Cup.
Tamim row
During the T20 World Cup row involving Bangladesh, Tamim had urged the BCB to think about the cricketers and participate in the tournament. However, at that time, finance committee chairman M Nazmul Islam accused the former national captain of being an “Indian agent.”
This remark drew a lot of flak from several cricketers in Bangladesh, and the BCB were forced to sack him following the public outcry.
“The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) wishes to inform that, following a review of recent developments and in the best interest of the organisation, the BCB President has decided to release Mr Najmul Islam from his responsibilities as Chairman of the Finance Committee with immediate effect,” the board had said in an official release.
