Can Aminul Islam implement the plans he has on paper for Bangladesh cricket? ©BCB
Can Aminul Islam, Bangladesh Cricket Board’s newly elected president, leave his mark in the company of rebels?
The question is obvious after former BCB president Faruque Ahmed was forced to leave his post following the no-confidence vote against him from his fellow directors, which also marked the introduction of a new chapter in the history of Bangladesh cricket, given that no previous board president had to face such ignominy.
After Faruque refused to resign following his meeting with the sports advisor, to everyone’s surprise, eight out of 10 BCB directors submitted a formal no-confidence letter to the Ministry of Youth and Sports. They sought the immediate removal of Faruque, and within hours National Sports Council announced the termination of Faruque’s position as their representative on the BCB’s board of directors.
The sports advisor explained that Faruque was removed due to his performance and not for any case of corruption, and on the same note, added that the directors were finding it hard to work with him.
What will happen if the directors find it hard to work with Aminul? Will he be removed in a similar manner, with the no-confidence motion becoming a trend?
Aminul, during his first media conference at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, after being elected as the board president, was asked on quite a few occasions whether he was aware that the men sitting beside him also brought Faruque into the chair before throwing him away through a no-confidence vote. And whether as the directors, they could take the same route if things do not go their way with Aminul as well.
“I just started today, and in the coming days we will see what is happening, but I feel and believe that a country or a cricket team only goes forward when it works as a unit. A bowler cannot bowl alone, he needs fielders and a wicketkeeper. We will have different roles at different times, and will try to develop our cricket,” said Aminul.
Aminul, on his first day at the office after taking over as BCB president, had given a presentation in front of the board where he insisted that he is focused on decentralization. After meeting the sports advisor on Sunday (June 1), Animul said that he would not shy away from taking hard action if resistance arose in implementing the decentralization of cricket.
“Since this is a critical need (decentralization of cricket), we will take tough decisions if required, but it must be done with everyone’s support. If we face resistance, we’ll begin with outreach through cricket, and then establish regional centers,” Aminul told reporters following his meeting with the board directors.
“After we received Test status in 2000, we discussed building a regional structure, but it hasn’t happened to this day. This time, we will move forward – even if it requires bureaucratic steps – and the NSC is supporting us. Previously, we worked on expanding cricket across the country in a regional model, and now we’re going to implement that very soon,” he said.
Similar promises were made by former BCB president Nazmul Hasan, who ran the board for three terms, before being replaced by Faruque, and the latter also intended to do the same but failed to turn it into a reality.
Dhaka club-based board directors, who dictate the terms in the board room, often turned out to be the biggest obstacles when it came to implementing plans on decentralization. They felt their powers would be curtailed to great extent if it was put into operation as the divisional directors would take their own calls, and not be dependent on them to take cricket forward, as is the case currently.
Aminul will have other jobs on hand as well. He insisted that his primary focus is to conduct a transparent election, scheduled in October. Apart from that, he will need to fix several issues, which include the constitution amendment that was stopped after pressure from clubs.
The Bangladesh Premier League fixing issues, as well as payment issues, already put the image of the tournament at stake, which Aminul will now need to sort out apart from the financial irregularities that forced the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to investigate multiple issues.
BCB also need to have a new broadcast deal as they don’t have any official broadcast partner, which is a major source of revenue. Different directors have different stakes when it comes to dealing with these things, and only time can tell whether he will be able to put his plans into action.
Expectations are high with Aminul, who has experience due to his involvement with ICC and ACC. But this qualification alone won’t guarantee success. There are several egos at play, which can over-ride many other aspects of cricket governance.
© Cricbuzz
