Leadership gaps hamper BCB operations

Faruque Ahmed was officially announced as the president of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on 21 August. Yet, just two months in, governance issues are already surfacing within the board. While former president Nazmul Hassan Papon ran operations like a one-man show, Faruque appears to be centralising operations similarly, as seen in skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto's captaincy situation.

Despite three board meetings and an emergency session under Faruque's tenure, no standing committees have been formed, leaving 12 directors inactive and raising concerns about BCB's effectiveness. The National Sports Council (NSC) has also questioned the absence of certain board directors, who reportedly fled after the fall of the Awami League government, urging BCB to clarify its position on forming a committee to amend its constitution.

Faruque attended a press conference yesterday and discussed agendas related to the NSC and other matters, but addressing the media ahead of the board meeting resulted in no significant decisions being discussed.

"Yes, there are agendas [to be discussed in the board meeting], but the way you are asking, it's as if five-six months have gone by. We went through three board meetings in 10 days, and it's the fourth meeting today," Faruque said, adding that the board is undertaking the task of forming the committee to amend the constitution.

Increasingly, it appears the functions of particular departments are not running as they should. Many BCB officials remain unsure of decisions they need to make until consultation with the BCB president. BCB sources inform that even meeting agendas and minutes are not being provided before or after meetings.

Faruque informed there are seven to eight directors now working and admitted they could not form the committees, and he himself is heading many departments' functions "on an ad-hoc basis".

"These standing committees, we will try to give them some form in one week. Maybe I will be acting head of four departments, and with me, I will have a member secretary, as per rules from councillors, and try to form committees, those that are important," he informed.

It is true that the BPL scheduling and shaping the tournament had taken a lot of attention. However, as there is too much on the board president's plate, the failure to delegate matters has also been felt.

Jalal Yunus resigned, and so did Khaled Mahmud Sujon. One was the cricket operations chairman and the other the vice-president. While office functions did not stagnate, decisions have. The case of Bangladesh captain Shanto, informing board officials that he does not want to continue as captain, highlights the ineffectiveness around BCB.

Players are required to report any issues to the cricket operations department. Many times in the past, former president Papon faced criticism for handling these matters personally, often bypassing proper channels of communication.

"I can't understand anything unless I sit with him [Shanto]. You can't make decisions based on reading newspapers," he said, underlining that a key department, such as cricket operations, regarding this important matter, also stagnated because the BCB president had too much on his plate.