BCB meeting takes a number of important decisions

---

Belying all speculations that the Bangladesh Cricket Board members would resign en masse Saturday, the BCB executive committee instead held a productive meeting taking some important decisions, including the selection of a national coach by the first week of next month, reports UNB.
Youth and Sports Adviser Tapan Chowdhury had said early this month that the BCB executive committee would be dissolved by the third week of this month to pave the way for forming an ad hoc committee.
Reliable sources said the authorities concerned are willing to allow more time to dissolve the present BCB committee after a meeting between Youth & Sports Adviser Tapan Chowdhury and BCB president M Abdul Aziz Friday.
After the meeting, BCB general secretary Mahbubul Anam told the newsmen that the government has not yet asked them to resign or to dissolve the BCB executive committee.
Chaired by BCB president M Abdul Aziz, the meeting at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Saturday decided to select a new coach for the national cricket team by the first week of next month.
A six-member committee, headed by BCB vice president Shah Nurul Kabir Shaheen, will choose the national cricket coach after interviewing three short-listed candidates -- Dave Houghton of Zimbabwe, and Jamie Siddons and John Harmer of Australia -- later this month.
The committee will also appoint a new physio for the national team as the term of present national physio Pual Close will expire on August 8.
According to a decision of the meeting, Bangladesh is likely to participate in a tri-nation one-day cricket tournament in Kenya, also involving Kenya and Pakistan, sometime between August 31 and September 5 before the Twenty20 World Cup subject to the approval of ICC.
The BCB meeting also formed a three-member committee comprising Mahbubul Anam, Afzalur Rahman Sinha and SM Faruk to recommend within a week whether to extend the tenure of national selectors Faruque Ahmed and Athar Ali Khan, due to expire on July 31, or to appoint two new selectors.
The BCB decided to award Tk 50,000 each to all the players and officials of Bangladesh national women cricket team, who became unbeaten champions in the eight-team ACC Women's Cricket tournament that concluded in Johor Bahru, Malaysia recently. The BCB will also accord a reception to the eves cricket team.
It also decided to donate Tk 50,000 for the treatment of former cricketer cum sports writer Hasan Mahmud Bablee.
Prior to the meeting, the ACC women's champions trophy was handed over to the BCB president. Women wing president of BCB Fahima Hossain Jubilee was, among others, present.
The meeting decided to call international tenders to select sponsors for the national cricket team, Twenty20 World Cup team as well as clothing sponsor for the team.
In the meeting, the BCB members agreed to institute a Tk 1 crore trust fund to help distressed cricketers and sports journalists.
Meanwhile, the BCB president accepted the resignation of vice-president Gazi Golam Dastagir and member Kabir Hossain Bhuiyan.
The BCB also decided to send two umpires and a match referee to represent Bangladesh at a seminar in South Africa.