BCB made the announcement following the 17th meeting of the BCB board of directors. © BCB The Bangladesh Cricket Board, on Saturday, suspended all the activities of the controversial constitutional reform committee. BCB made the announcement following the 17th meeting of the BCB board of directors at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. The reform committee headed by BCB director Nazmul Abedin came under severe criticism after they proposed to make wholesale changes in the constitution of the board. On January 14, Dhaka club organizers threatened a boycott over the proposed BCB constitution reforms, while four days later clubs boycotted First Division domestic cricket leaving the livelihood of several cricketers uncertain. The BCB formed a five-member constitution reform committee, headed by the board’s influential director Nazmul Abedin, with Saiful Islam (Personal Secretary to the National Sports Council Chairman) serving as the member secretary. The other committee members are Kamruzzaman (legal advisor to the BCB), Supreme Court Advocate Barrister Shyikh Mahdi, and AKM Azad Hossain. Key proposals in the revised constitution include the dissolution of the CCDM, a significant reduction in the number of Category-2 councilors in the BCB General Council, and a decrease in the number of directors representing Dhaka-based clubs from 12 to just 4. Additionally, the total number of BCB directors would be reduced from 25 to 21 under the proposed changes. It did not go well with the clubs as they decided to boycott the league which prompted BCB to take quick measures considering the fact that if the league is postponed, it could jeopardize the future of around 1,600 to 2,000 cricketers. “They [reform committee] did not present anything to the board or the NSC. The board of directors felt that the process [of the committee] should be a bit more transparent because the constitution is something where there can’t be any secrecy. It’s public information that will be public. We felt their activities need to be suspended, and the discussion that is happening, should be stopped,” BCB director Mahbub Anam said following the meeting. “In the same way, the changes in the committees and their expansion are necessary because it’s important for the stakeholders to be involved, the board felt. In light of those, these decisions have been taken. We will announce the committee’s scope of work before any changes and expansion decisions are executed. We have decided to suspend the activities of the constitution reform committee,” he added. BCB officials insisted that they are addressing the controversy surrounding the ongoing BPL that embarrassed them to a large extent after players boycotted practice on non-payment issues. It is understood that some matches and cricketers are under the watch of the anti-corruption unit of BCB. “The thing that has to be maintained under franchise contracts, the BCB will do everything to ensure that the franchise owners abide by them. In the next 48 hours those activities will continue,” said Mahbub. BCB announced the standing committee while also hinting that there is a possibility of an interim election. Several posts are vacant in the Faruque Ahmed-led board, which took over following the departure of former BCB president Najmul Hasan, who fled away after the Awami League government was brought down during the student movement in July-August 2024. “It was discussed (how to fill the vacant post) and we will take a decision in this regard after discussing the matter with everyone,” Mahbub concluded. We have already requested our legal team to work out how we can proceed,” said Mahbub.
