Ex-BCB directors demand inquiry into board corruption over last 17 years

A group of former Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) directors demanded an inquiry into the corruption that had taken place at the cricket board over the last 17 years, during the reign of the recently ousted Awami League government.

A delegation of former directors, who worked at BCB in various capacities between 2001 and 2005, raised this demand when they met BCB president Faruque Ahmed at his office on Saturday.

"There was a lot of corruption in the cricket board over the last 17 years. We were an elected board but were forced to resign. Those who were here committed extensive corruption. We told our new board president to publish their corruption report. We want a proper inquiry into the corruption," former BCB director Qaiyum Chowdhury told reporters in Mirpur after the meeting.

Among the other former directors present during the meeting were former BCB vice-president Shah Nurul Kabir Shahin and directors Kazi Mohiuddin Bulbul, Rafiqul Islam, Abdullah Al Fuad Redowan, Shafiqul Islam, Shahiduzzaman Shohid, Qaiyum, Mohammad Zahid Hossain, Asaduzzaman, and Sports Development Council member Abdul Mazid.

Former BCB vice-president Shahin said they also promised the new board president their full support during the meeting.

"We had played cricket. We were cricket organisers and we still are at present. We couldn't leave the charm of cricket. We promised our full support to him during the meeting," Shahin said.

BCB director Nazmul Abedeen Fahim and BCB's chief executive officer Nizamuddin Chowdhury were also present on the occasion.

After the Awami League government was formed in 2009, AHM Mustafa Kamal was appointed as BCB president, and his tenure lasted until 2012. After Kamal, Nazmul Hassan Papon was appointed as the board president by the government in 2012, and he was at the helm for nearly 12 years.

On August 5, the Awami League government fell after a student-led mass uprising, which saw many BCB directors, including Papon, go into hiding.

On August 21, Papon finally resigned from his role as BCB president during an emergency board of directors' meeting at the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

In the same meeting, former national skipper Faruque was nominated as the new board president.