Bangladesh Cricket Board Is In Juxtaposition After October 2025 Election Fiasco.

Dhaka; April 2026: The Bangladesh government’s investigation committee has uncovered evidence of vote-rigging, bias, and coercion in the October 2025 Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) elections. The five-member panel, led by former justice AKM Asaduzzaman, submitted its findings to the sports ministry, in which they have levelled accusations of a lack of cooperation from BCB’s top officials on multiple occasions.

Former BCB president Aminul Islam Bulbul have said in a recent interview that he did not participate in a face-to-face meeting with the panel, opting instead to submit a written response. Despite this, the committee found that both BCB officials and individuals within the sports ministry were involved in irregularities during the election process.

Mohammed Aminul Ahesan, the NSC sports director, read out the government’s report at a press conference yesterday (07th April 2026). “The election process was not free, fair or transparent. Voters were intimidated, and procedural irregularities were rampant”. Ahesan has further stated that the government had sufficient grounds to dissolve the Aminul-led BCB board. Concluding his press briefing, he announced the 11 members of a new ad hoc committee will oversee the BCB for the next three months.

Earlier, on March 10, 2026, Shariful Alam and other former councillors made a complaint about the district and division sports associations. The subject of the complaint was the deadline for submitting councilor’s names from this category.

Tamim Iqbal, the former Bangladesh captain, who had accused Aminul of abusing his authority as BCB president just four weeks before last year’s election, has been appointed as the new BCB president. The concerned authorities of the erstwhile BCB then led by Aminul Islam were sent letters on September 01st and 02nd 2025 – intimating that the submission deadline would be September 17th. The BCB extended this deadline to September 19th and then to September 22nd.

The present 05 members investigating committee felt that this deadline was extended without proper reason and for ulterior motives, to replace the previously nominated councillors with preferred individuals and create opportunities for them to be elected as directors”, Ahesan said. The investigating committee found that Aminul and Nazmul Abedeen Fahim used undue influence to secure their councillorships for the 2025 BCB elections and to gain positions in Dhaka’s ad hoc committees, actions Ahesan described as a serious abuse of power.

“Based on the statements of the other directors interviewed, the committee has inferred that Aminul Islam Bulbul was not duly authorised to nominate 10 councillors from among the former cricketers”, the statement stated. “Also, as per Article 9.3.3 of the BCB Constitution, the President does not have the power to unilaterally nominate 10 former cricketers as councillors. Therefore, Aminul Islam Bulbul, as the BCB President, acted beyond his authority by unilaterally nominating 10 former cricketers as councillors. This is a clear abuse of power and a violation of the BCB constitution. The committee found that Aminul Islam Bulbul’s unilateral nomination of 10 former cricketers had a significant impact on the election process, as he received benefits from those councillors and potentially influenced the election outcome”, the report further added. According to the report, Aminul and officials from the NSC were found to have manipulated the e-voting process, a conclusion supported by voter interviews that described the system as “pre-planned”.

“The committee found that e-voting was conducted from a specific location and the confidentiality of the vote was not maintained, which is against basic democratic principles and the BCB constitution”, the report stated. “Again, most of these voters were present at the polling station on the day of physical voting of e-voters. Although there was an opportunity to vote directly, e-voting was conducted by gathering in one place at the Sheraton Hotel in the capital on the night of the 05th October 2025, and the process seemed to the committee to be vote rigging”.

The Bangladesh government, under the accusation of violating regulations, has dissolved the management committee of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), and, by doing so, they have formed a new ad hoc committee, which will run the BCB elections and management within the next three months. “The BCB election had faced multiple allegations of rule violations. In response, the Bangladesh government formed an inquiry committee. This committee submitted a report, which found evidence of all these rule violations, and that is why the BCB board was dissolved”, Aminul Ehsan, Director (Sports), of Bangladesh National Sports Council, informed media reporters.

“We have already informed our decision to the International Cricket Council (ICC). The head of the new ad hoc committee is Tamim Iqbal from cricket, and under his leadership, this ad hoc committee will organise the elections and form a new BCB board within the next three months”, Ehsan said.

The erstwhile BCB faced criticism for various reasons, not just the election, especially due to the boycott from the T20 World Cup. After the formation of the inquiry committee by the government, that is, by the National Sports Council, one by one, directors resigned. Up to now, about 07 directors have resigned even before the board was dissolved. As a result of this instability, the government dissolved the BCB board.

The Bangladesh government has named former cricketer Tamim Iqbal as the new president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). The 37-year-old former Bangladesh cricketer Tamim became the youngest BCB president. He will lead an 11-member ad-hoc committee that includes former Bangladesh captain Minhajul Abedin and former cricketer and TV commentator Athar Ali Khan. The other members are Rashna Imam, Mirza Yeasir Abbas, Syed Ibrahim Ahmed, Israfil Khasru, Tanjil Chowdhury, Salman Ispahani, Rafiqul Islam and Fahim Sinha.

Earlier, Aminul Islam had said he would remain in his position despite the ongoing turmoil in the board, as an investigation into alleged malpractice and abuse of power in last year’s election had submitted its report to the Bangladesh government.

“I will sit in my chair. What else can I do? I will be the last person to go. I have a very good, dedicated and honest team [in the BCB]. I want to serve Bangladesh cricket with this team. Nobody is indispensable. I was the only Bangladeshi to work in the ICC. I am not saying I am something huge, but I am sitting here because of my experience. I left everything to be here to support my country. If this is no longer mine, I will look at another path. But I want to support my country”, Aminul Islam Bulbul had briefed the media reporters before the board was dissolved.

Suvro Sanyal – Team Maverick.