Sports Advisor Mahmud meets BCB officials to ask for interim board appointment

FE Team | Published: August 11, 2024 22:33:02

Asif Mahmud, the youth and sports advisor of Bangladesh's interim government, said on Sunday that they have asked Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to see if it can appoint an interim head under the ICC framework, reports Cricbuzz.
Asif, who came to the office for the first time since taking over the post of advisor, sat with seven BCB officials in a meeting before making the announcement publicly.
BCB president Nazmul Hasan along with few other board directors are missing since the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled from the country on August 05. The interim government could appoint an ad-hoc committee to run the BCB and it is understood that ICC will accept such a body, especially if elections are held later on and as long as there is no direct government interference. The ICC had previously suspended Sri Lanka Cricket, from November 2023 to January 2024, because of government interference in its functioning.
BCB still run by the Nazmul-led panel that has been at the helm of the board for nearly the last 14 years, as they still have not resigned from their post. However, their resignations are imminent in the coming days as several directors fled the country due to their political identity.
Whether the BCB opts for an ad-hoc committee to complete the next election or with the present board still remains to be seen. Additionally, whether the spots vacated following the departure of the Board of Directors are filled by bringing in new faces in the Director's role through an election is still in consideration. However, one thing that looks certain before making any move is that, they want to ensure they are not reprimanded by any ICC sanctions for having government interference in their board.
"The BCB president is missing. Of course, for a federation to work, all of its organs need to work. President holds an important responsibility and he is absent. But BCB is an autonomous federation and we cannot give them any decision. We can give and take suggestion from BCB," Asif told reporters at secretariat on Sunday.
"We have suggested that the directors of the BCB [should] look at how to resolve the issue within the ICC's legal framework. They will report to us later on whether to appoint someone for an interim period. We will continue the process in this regard," he said. "We want to make required changes but at the same time we need to follow process. We don't want to change the person rather we want to change the system so that whoever comes in by following that system, the corruption cannot return and we want to take steps so that we can make a permanent solution," he said.
Asif added that he would speak with interim head Professor Yunus to see what can be done to host the forthcoming Women's World Cup that looks doubtful amid political unrest in the country.
"There are travel restrictions for some country and so we will speak with the United Nations. There are some issues regarding security and infrastructure and we will talk in this regard with professor Yunus. He (Yunus) is a sports lover and hope that he can resolve the matter," he said.