How will cricket be impacted?

The protests across Bangladesh over the past few weeks resulted in prime minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation, following which she left the country. The country witnessed widespread violence through this period, which disrupted regular activities - including the training of the national cricket teams. As things stand, the makeup of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is not known, and there is some uncertainty over the women's T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in Bangladesh in October, according to ESPNCricinfo.

Let's look how the political unrest has affected country's cricket.

The Bangladesh senior men's team is expected to leave for Pakistan on August 16 but several of their training sessions couldn't be held. The BCB and PCB operations departments are in touch, and the departure date hasn't changed.

The Bangladesh men's A team was scheduled to leave for Islamabad on Tuesday but couldn't since the Dhaka airport was shut on Monday. The team will travel to Islamabad on 10 August, instead, which was scheduled to be the first day of the series, and the matches will begin from August 13.

The Bangladesh women's team's training was also disrupted. They have recently returned from Sri Lanka, where they reached the semi-final of the Asia Cup, and were preparing for the T20 World Cup, which will be held in the country in October. Dhaka and Sylhet are the venues for the T20 World Cup, but hosting the ten-team event remains a concern.

India, Sri Lanka and the UAE are in the shortlist for back-up venues in case the ICC is forced to shift the World Cup out of Bangladesh.

BCB's next elections are only in October 2025. But given the highly politicised nature of the board's makeup, it is tough to see any of the directors, especially president Nazmul Hassan, returning to the Mirpur office in the city.

There are other issues too. Nazmul has also been Bangladesh's sports minister since early 2024. Shafiul Alam Chowdhury, the BCB director, became an Awami League MP in the 2024 general elections. Several other board directors have political connections as well - including former MPs Naimur Rahman and AJM Nasir Uddin and directors Sheikh Sohel and Nazib Ahmed, Hasina's cousins.

None of them were available, at least on their phones, since the fall of the government on August 05.

There are conflicting reports. We heard from one source that he had left the country, but there are also reports - all unconfirmed - that he is in Bangladesh. His ancestral home in Kishoreganj was vandalised, but he wasn't there. As such, he lives in Dhaka in a house known for holding important press conferences related to Bangladesh cricket.

The National Sports Council had formed interim or ad-hoc committees to run the BCB in 2007 and in 2013. On the first occasion, it was during the rule of a caretaker government at the centre. In 2013, it was formed between the presidencies of AHM Mustafa Kamal and Nazmul Hassan, who became the first elected president of BCB later that year.

Anything we say on the future of the BCB right now will be speculative at best. There is some worry about how the ICC interprets the situation. Last year, the ICC had suspended Sri Lanka Cricket for two months for violation of responsibilities as an ICC member, in particular, "the requirement to manage its affairs autonomously and ensure that there is no government interference in the governance, regulation and/or administration of cricket in Sri Lanka".

They lost the right to host the Under-19 World Cup as a result, but they were allowed to play international cricket. How the ICC interprets Bangladesh's situation is going to be interesting to see as the PCB, too, has had a few changes to their president in recent years, and none through an electoral process.

One couldn't tell from Shakib Al Hasan's on-field performance in the Global T20 Canada that, in his first term as a member of parliament, his party has been toppled in such dramatic fashion. He led Bangla Tigers Mississauga to a two-wicket win over Surrey Jaguars on Monday, winning the Player-of-the-Match award, hours after the government fell in Dhaka.

There were videos going around on social media showing several Bangladeshis abusing Shakib after the match. He was also seen in an argument with a Bangladeshi fan during his previous match in Brampton after he had been asked about his silence on the crisis back home.

Shakib, who was in Bangladesh for a few days after the T20 World Cup ended in June, has been playing in the MLC and the Global T20 Canada since early July. He has made himself available for the two Tests against Pakistan. He remains one of the country's top cricketers but whether the political situation impacts his future as an international cricketer or not is unknown.

Mashrafe Mortaza's silence on the students' movement also did not sit well with many. He was known for his salt-of-the-earth persona in his years as a player and later as Bangladesh's captain from 2014 to 2020. His decision to venture into politics in 2018 was met with mixed reactions. At that time, Mashrafe became the first active international cricketer to be a member of parliament. On Monday, his parents' home back in Narail was set on fire.