BCB set for major shake-up

The much-anticipated meeting of Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) directors will take place at the Ministry of Youth and Sports today, where major decisions are likely to be made, including the resignation of long-standing board president Nazmul Hassan Papon.

Despite repeated attempts to contact CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury -- who called the meeting on behalf of the BCB boss -- he could not be reached yesterday. However, BCB director and Game Development Committee chairman Khaled Mahmud Sujon later confirmed to The Daily Star that the meeting is scheduled to begin at 11:00 am.

"I think the decisions taken in the last board meeting and how to run the board will be discussed during the board meeting," Sujon informed.

Since the fall of the Awami League government following a student uprising on August 5, most of the BCB directors have gone into hiding, including the BCB president, leaving many positions inactive.

Papon, who is reportedly in London, is expected to join the meeting virtually alongside some other directors who also left the country, while others will attend the meeting in person.

According to the BCB constitution, if the board president resigns, the existing directors of the cricket board will decide on their next course of action to choose the next president from the directors' panel.

There has been discussion about the venue for the BCB board meeting, which is usually held at the BCB office or in hotels but will now take place at the ministry. It has been confirmed that no ministry officials will attend, as their participation contradicts the protocol.

"The Youth and Sports adviser [Asif Mahmud] isn't authorised to attend the meeting. If anyone pays a courtesy visit later after the meeting, that's a different matter," said a National Sports Council (NSC) official, adding that the adviser has urged BCB officials to follow constitutional procedures and has refrained from enforcing any decisions.

It has been learnt that NSC has already completed their framework ahead of the meeting, as they are set to nominate former national team captain Faruque Ahmed -- the frontrunner for the role of president -- and veteran coach Nazmul Abedeen Fahim as two of their directors on the board, replacing Jalal Yunus and Ahmed Sajjadul Alam Bobby.

While Yunus resigned from his position on Monday, Bobby has yet to step down; though both were asked to do so by NSC.

When contacted, Sajjadul told The Daily Star that he had not even received any notice about today's meeting. On the other hand, Fahim confirmed that he has recently been contacted by NSC officials and expressed his willingness to join BCB.

"They have contacted me recently, but until I receive a document, I can't confirm anything," said Fahim, who had contested in the BCB election in 2021 in Category C against former skipper Mahmud but lost.