It is being said that you may compete in the upcoming Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) elections in October. How likely is that?
I’ve been considering whether or not to take part in the election and I’m leaning positively towards contesting. I want to see some reforms, some change, in Bangladesh cricket. I believe that when everything else is undergoing reforms, the cricket board needs some reforms as well.
Have you started any preparations or campaigns for the election? As per the BCB constitution, you’ll need to become a councilor under one of the categories first. Have you decided from where you’ll become a councilor?
I’m trying. Let’s see if a club nominates me as a councilor. I’ve been detached from Bangladesh cricket for quite some time. I have worked at the ACC for over 15 years. Now, as I’m getting on in years, I feel a strong urge to give something back to the country’s cricket. The experience I’ve gathered over the years involved in cricket is something not many others possess. I’d like to contribute to Bangladesh from that experience.
Let’s say you become a councilor and then get elected as a board director. Then wouldn’t it be your main goal to become the BCB president?
I believe even a director can contribute significantly to the BCB—if they’re given the space to do so. If all the power is concentrated in the hands of the president, the rest may end up being sidelined. But yes, if I’m elected as a director, I will also run for the position of the president. For, nothing else would be appropriate for my age and my experience at this point.
You stepped down from your role as the ACC chief executive in 2015. Over the past 10 years, you haven’t been involved in cricket administration at any level. Now that you want to return, it must be for a good reason. Could you elaborate on your goals?
You see, regional cricket associations are being proposed in our country for the past 25 years, even we proposed it once. Yet it still hasn’t been implemented in Bangladesh cricket. Cricket cannot remain so centralised like this. Except for here the game is becoming decentralised everywhere else in the world. If we can’t change that, our cricket will not progress. Because of this centralisation, there were never any players in the pipeline before, nor there is now. Our cricket is still revolving around a few urban centres, like Dhaka, Chattogram, and Rajshahi. There’s no real initiative to expand cricket into rural areas. There will be no progress in cricket like this.
We’re a country of over 180 million (18 crore) people. If we can’t even produce just 11 world-class cricketers from among them, then what’s the point and where’s our achievement? That’s why we must go to the grassroots, to the villages. There should be independent regional cricket associations even at the grassroots level, capable of operating without interference from the central board. Of course, the central board will still have overall responsibilities, but local bodies must be given full authority to run cricket in their regions.
Yes, clubs also have a vital role in Bangladesh cricket. When we were players, clubs played an enormous part, they turned us into cricketers. There’s no denying that they had a role before and will continue to have it in future as well. But we cannot ignore rural areas either. This is essential even for the clubs. Where do the clubs get their players from? From Satkhira, Naogaon, or some other places like that. If there’s no cricket in those regions, then where will clubs like Mohammedan, Victoria, or any others find their players? Cricketers from Keraniganj or Dhanmondi only won't suffice them.
Although you’ve been away from direct involvement in Bangladesh cricket for quite a few years, you’re a former cricketer and also a former BCB general secretary. Surely, you haven’t looked away from the game altogether. From a distance, how have you viewed Bangladesh cricket over the past 12–13 years?
The BCB constitution has set up a lot of things. When all the power is concentrated in the hands of the president, what can you expect? A president doesn’t need to know everything. Just to give you an example, if the president is involved in deciding the team, or what the players will wear, it’s not practical! I’ve even heard that a BCB president once said, “My grandson understands cricket really well. He says this player or that player shouldn’t be in the team.” That’s just absurd!
Over the past nine months, there’s been a lot of drama centering the BCB presidency. Faruque Ahmed was appointed president first, and then just three months before the election, he was suddenly removed and replaced with Aminul Islam. The way this all happened, would you consider it to be government interference in cricket?
I don’t want to comment on that because I don’t wish to get involved in the internal politics here. But if I do return to the board ever, I will try to ensure that all processes are followed properly.
Some believe you may have had a role in Aminul Islam becoming the president. Is there any truth to that?
Absolutely not. Bulbul (Aminul Islam) is one of my favourite cricketers. When I was at the ACC, he worked with me. I know what he’s capable of and how well he works. He is a fantastic worker. I truly believe Bulbul is qualified for the responsibility he has taken on. At the same time, I also think Faruque was fully capable of serving in that role too. But I know Faruque more as a cricketer. I haven’t had the opportunity to closely observe him in other roles.
Before Faruque Ahmed and Aminul Islam were made presidents, there were rumours that you would become the BCB President. But that didn’t happen. Did anyone ever contact you regarding the role, or did you express any interest yourself?
Since that chapter is now closed, I’d prefer not to say anything about it now.
In Bangladesh cricket, off-field issues and controversies often overshadow the actual game. Why do you think that is, as someone who’s observed all this from a distance?
Because we keep creating attention-grabbing situations off the field. If I publicly say that a certain player is no good, everyone will jump on that saying, “Oh wow, what a big story!” We also have a tendency to enjoy sensationalism.
When I was the general secretary of BCB, the board president rarely spoke at press conferences, they used to send me instead. I saw the same at the ACC. I worked under many chairmen, and unless it was something of major importance, they never spoke to the media themselves.
Outside Bangladesh, you won’t see cricket board presidents talking so much. But in Bangladesh, the BCB president seems to speak every single day! Sometimes, it feels like the BCB president gets more media coverage than ministers, at times even more than the prime minister.
You played cricket yourself and after ending the playing career you worked successfully as an organiser at BCB. Later, you moved abroad as a cricket organiser. In the meantime, do you think Bangladesh cricket has fulfilled the dreams you had seen back then?
When we applied for Test status in 1996-1997, I never even thought I would live to see Bangladesh play Test cricket. But through hard work both on and off the field, we achieved Test status within three years. That was an extraordinary achievement. Many factors contributed to us gaining Test status. We worked as a team. The entire cricket board worked towards the same goal.
We also took some positive steps to make an impact in world cricket. We made Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa our strategic partners. The truth is, while you shouldn’t think of yourself as small, you also have to accept that other countries play better cricket than us, and to improve, we need to seek their advice. We thought, “We have Test status. We are getting USD 22-24 million (USD 220-240 crore) from the ICC. We are kings now! What else is there to worry about?”
There was no real thought about improving the game. We approved Tk 10 billion (Tk 1,000 crore) to build a cricket stadium. But with that same amount of money, we could have built at least 100 cricket grounds. Is it more necessary to build one stadium costing Tk 10 billion (Tk 1,000 crore) in one person’s name than building 100 cricket grounds?
A country like the United Arab Emirates has 63 full-sized cricket grounds. Full-sized means at least 75 metres in every direction. In our country, we probably don’t have even one ground like that. Not even all our cricket stadiums have those measurements, maybe one or two do. Whereas, a country like the UAE has 63 such grounds, Afghanistan has eight, Nepal has 6 or 7, and our country has none. Is that even fair?
Last question, if you truly go through all the steps and become the president of the BCB, what would be the first things you would want to do?
The first task would be to restructure the BCB constitution. As soon as possible, I want to turn the dream of having regional cricket associations into a reality. I want to ensure accountability and transparency in the financial matters of the BCB. In the ACC, accounts are published on their website every 15 days so everyone can see them. If anyone spots an issue, they can speak up. I want the same system to be in place at the BCB.
Also, the power of the BCB president needs to be curtailed. The BCB president cannot be a dictator. He can be the captain of the team, but not a dictator. This also requires changes to the constitution. From my long experience working at the ACC, I believe the power of the BCB president should be decentralised and reduced. The president of an organisation should not have fascist powers, as it currently exists in our cricket board.
The board president cannot be the supreme authority in every matter. This is an obstacle to the development of our cricket. We were successful in the Asian Cricket Council because the president and board entrusted full responsibility to professionals. An organisation where the president interferes in everything, where the president is the supreme authority, can never move forward.