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Clubs announce to boycott leagues, BCB reassuresÌý

Staff CorrespondentÌý

The Bangladesh Cricket Board reaffirmed their commitment to hold all leagues as scheduled after some Dhaka-based cricket organisers on Wednesday announced that they would not participate in any league after refusing to recognise the recently concluded BCB elections.Ìý

‘We will not participate in any kind of league or district cricket from now on,’ Masuduzzaman, councillor of the Mohammedan Sporting Club in the BCB elections, said in a press conference organised by the Dhaka Club Cricket Organisers Association at a city hotel on Wednesday.Ìý

‘If any club faces threats or pressure, we will remain united. Cricket, for now, will remain off the field until justice is ensured,’ he added.Ìý

‘If any club is targeted or conspired against, we will respond together. We are united in this cause,’ he further said.

He also dubbed the newly elected BCB president, Aminul Islam, illegal.Ìý

He said, ‘We do not recognise this election. There is no point in any discussion. He [Aminul] has nothing to say now. He is an illegal president.’

Masuduzzaman, also a director of Mohammedan, said that their decision came as a result of prolonged frustrations among the club officials.Ìý

‘We have been saying for weeks that the election should have been postponed and conducted fairly. No one listened. Now we are left with no choice. The beauty and credibility of Bangladesh’s cricket are being destroyed,’ said Masuduzzaman.

He also shut down the proposals from Aminul that the ‘doors were always open for dialogue’.Ìý

‘Discussion comes after recognition,’ Masuduzzaman said. ‘We don’t recognise this election or the result. So there’s no scope for dialogue.’

However, the BCB responded with their reaffirmation that the leagues would go on as per schedule.Ìý

‘The Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM), the organising body for all club-based competitions in Dhaka, reaffirms its commitment to holding leagues under its jurisdiction as scheduled in the domestic calendar for 2025–26,’ BCB said in a press release on Wednesday.

‘The CCDM wishes to assure players and stakeholders that every necessary preparation is being taken to organise the competitions, the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League, Dhaka First, Second and Third Division Cricket Leagues, the Dhaka First Division T20 League, the Dhaka Third Division Qualifying League, and the CCDM Challenge Cup in accordance with the calendar's timetable,’ it added.Ìý

‘The interests and welfare of the players remain the highest priority and primary focus of both the CCDM and the Bangladesh Cricket Board,’ it further said.Ìý

Earlier, several councillors from various clubs and district associations withdrew their nominations from the BCB elections, citing interventions and other reasons.Ìý

Former national team captain Tamim Iqbal, who was also among those candidates, was also present at the press conference along with former BCB director Rafiqul Islam Babu, Major (retd) Imroze Ahmed, and SM Abdullah Al Fuad Redwan.

The Dhaka Third Division Cricket League has already been delayed due to the BCB election process.Ìý

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