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Tamim Iqbal accused BCB president Aminul Islam Bulbul and the government of interfering with the forthcoming board elections, during a press conference held at a city hotel in Dhaka on Sunday, arranged by former, current cricketers and organisers on Sunday.

The former national team captain, who announced that he would contest in the election, claimed that Bulbul breached the BCB constitution after alleging that he had sent letters to the district commissioners to remove some councillors. 

‘Recently, Bulbul bhai said in an interview that he had no idea how elections were conducted. Yet, he himself signed letters instructing previous councillors to be removed and only nominations from the ad hoc committee to be accepted,’ said Tamim. 

‘According to the constitution, once the election commission is formed, the president cannot sign any such letters. But in reality, he has signed and sent letters to district administrations. If he knows nothing about the elections, how can he issue such detailed directives?’ he added. 

Tamim also claimed that the government influenced the elections.

‘Letters from the NSC secretary and other authorities have repeatedly intervened in various matters. Why should the government interfere in BCB matters?’

‘Cricket belongs to 180 million people of this country, not to any small group or political faction. There should be no biasness, no government interference. Elections should be conducted fairly and transparently,’ he added. 

Tamim also said that he recently met with the Sports Adviser of the interim government, Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan. However, according to him, the intervention didn’t stop.  

‘I told him [the sports adviser] one thing and one thing only: I am not asking for anything personal; I just want a fair election. I have not demanded anything beyond that. But since then, what I have been witnessing at district and divisional levels, and even at clubs, is completely unacceptable,’ he said. 

‘It seems that the government are intervening from various directions, and this needs to be publicly known,’ he added.

BCB has extended the deadline for submissions of the councillor nomination form twice. The second extended deadline is supposed to end today. 

Tamim claimed that the second extension was done by Bulbul on a unilateral move. He also urged the authorities to reinstate the list from September 17, the primary deadline. 

Tamim further claimed that election turned into a selection.  

‘This is not an election anymore; this is turning into a selection. We are seeing people being removed from ad hoc committees and others being added based on convenience,’ he claimed.  

However, in a press release issued by the BCB later on Sunday, it stated that the claims were ‘speculative, unverified and false’. 

The BCB said that to address the matter with clarity and accuracy, they sought the opinion of Justice Mirza Hussain Haider, former judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. 

The BCB also advised to note the clause, stating, ‘From the provisions of law and analysis thereof, there is no scope for any other person outside the committee (regular/ad hoc) to be nominated as a councillor from that particular association for the formation of the General Council and the election of the Board of Directors of BCB.’

‘The BCB reiterates that all steps implemented by the Board in relation to the nomination process are being conducted strictly in line with the provisions of its Constitution and in keeping with the approved framework,’ the press release said. 

In the same press conference, Tamim announced that he would retire from all forms of cricket if he had been elected.