Bangladesh Sports Minister to Consult ICC on BCB's Future After Internal Probe

Dhaka. Bangladesh's Sports Minister, Aminul Haque, stated that a final decision regarding the future of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will be made only after consulting with the International Cricket Council (ICC). Furthermore, he is preparing to form another investigation committee regarding why Bangladesh could not participate in the Men's T20 World Cup held in India and Sri Lanka this year.

Last March 11, the Ministry of Sports formed a committee to investigate allegations of irregularities, manipulation, and abuse of power in the BCB's elections last year. The BCB objected to this, calling it government interference.

Minister Aminul Haque, a former Bangladeshi football captain, said that discussions with the ICC would take place after the five-member committee submits its report within 15 working days. He also claimed direct interference by the previous government in the BCB elections.

During the elections, Tamim Iqbal and officials from Dhaka Club alleged manipulation of the polls. BCB President Aminul Islam was also accused of interference even before the election. Aminul Islam was accused of sending a letter to the Ministry of Sports to change councilors in some districts, while Tamim claimed the deadline for submitting nominations was extended twice.

Tamim withdrew his candidacy on October 1, while Aminul Islam denied the allegations. Minister Haque stated that the investigation committee will also consult with the Election Commissioner, the current president, board directors, the CEO, and district-level administrators. He also informed that the investigation will cover allegations that councilors already nominated in some districts were later changed.

Meanwhile, the ICC replaced Bangladesh with Scotland after Bangladesh did not send a team to the T20 World Cup due to security concerns. The government is also preparing a separate investigation into this matter.

“We will find out why we could not participate in the World Cup. It is necessary to understand why our sports diplomacy became weak,” Minister Haque said. “We will now strengthen sports diplomacy to prevent such mistakes from happening again.”