Former national team captain Tamim Iqbal on Wednesday stated that he would have won easily in the recently concluded BCB elections but once again questioned the transparency of it.
Tamim, who was thought to be a candidate to become the next president, withdrew his candidacy, citing that the election wasn’t coherent with cricket.
However, Tamim said that he had plenty of offers on the table but didn’t want to participate in an election that was not ‘credible’.
‘I can guarantee that if I had personally contested, I would have easily passed,’ Tamim said during a press conference organised by the Dhaka Club Cricket Organisers Association at a city hotel in Dhaka Wednesday.
‘I was sure I’d win, regardless of who was on my side. But we didn’t want to be part of an election that wasn’t transparent,’ he added.
Tamim also claimed that he prioritised the demand for a credible election over his personal gain.
‘I had plenty of offers on the table. If I wanted, I could have taken them. But I wanted an open, credible election—one that everyone could trust,’ he said.
Tamim also questioned the credibility of the e-ballot system, citing it as ‘laughable’.
He said, ‘In the club category, 42 or 43 votes were cast, and 34 of them were e-votes. E-voting is meant for those who are not in the country or can’t attend in person.
‘But all 34 voters were present at the polling centre that day; even the 12 contesting candidates voted electronically. What’s the motive behind that? Their actions say everything.’
‘If the election had been fair, people who truly care about developing cricket would have been elected. The question isn’t about us — it’s about how this election was held and what it means for Bangladesh cricket,’ he added.
Tamim once again warned that the BCB was endangering the domestic players’ lives by holding such an election.
The biggest sufferers will be the cricketers, who depend on these leagues for their livelihood. Those who conducted this election must ask themselves whether the process served cricket’s interests or their own,’ he said.
‘Cricket deserves better,’ he added.
Aminul Islam was re-elected the president of the BCB, while former president Faruque Ahmed and Shakhwat Hussain were elected as vice-presidents in the elections held on October 6.
