Presidency contest keeps CWAB election alive

With 10 candidates already elected uncontested, Thursday's Cricketers Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) election to be held alongside the Annual General Meeting (AGM) has turned into a formality, saved for the contest for the top post.

The presidency will be decided in a straight contest between match referee Salim Shahed and national cricketer Mohammad Mithun, after the former stepped in to prevent what he termed an "auto pass" election.

"Basically, I stood in the election after seeing that only 11 candidates had collected nomination forms for 11 positions. This was almost like an auto pass system," Salim told The Daily Star on Wednesday.

"I took the nomination so that the election can actually take place and everyone can see how the process works. In my lifetime, I have never seen a CWAB election. I want to see this process continue in the future as well," he added.

"Auto-selection is not a good practice. To stop that, I decided to contest, nothing more," Salim said.

Meanwhile, Mithun pledged to work for the cricketers' welfare if elected.

"This is not a political place; this is where you have to work. If I get elected, I hope to serve the cricketers' best interests," said the Bangladesh batter.

Earlier, Shahriar Hossain Bidyut (senior vice-president), Nurul Hasan Sohan (vice-president), Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shamsur Rahman Shuvo, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rumana Ahmed, Khaled Mashud Pilot, Imrul Kayes, Irfan Sukkur, and Akbar Ali (executive members) were all elected unopposed in their respective categories.

The AGM will begin at 1:30 pm at the Academy building of the BCB, followed by voting between 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm.

For the first time, the election commission led by BCB director Iftekhar Rahman Mithu and former national cricketer Nasir Ahmed Nasu has arranged both physical and online voting. A total of 212 voters will choose the next CWAB president.