Let’s work together to take Bangladesh cricket to a new height: Bulbul

The newly elected Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president, Aminul Islam Bulbul, urged everyone to work together to take the country's cricket to a new height.

During his first press conference as BCB president today, he described his new role as both a test and an opportunity. He expressed his desire to contribute to the betterment of Bangladesh cricket, just as he had done previously for the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).

"It's a new role for me, which starts today, May 30," the former Bangladesh skipper told reporters in Mirpur.

"There is a small journey behind it. When my career as a player in the Bangladesh team ended, I spent the last 19 years working to develop cricket at the ICC and ACC. I would say it's a new test and opportunity for me."

Bulbul also revealed how he received the BCB presidency offer from Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Mahmud just one month ago, which he claimed was his first such offer from the BCB since his playing days ended.

Ahead of today's meeting, Bulbul was nominated as a BCB director by the National Sports Council (NSC) in place of former president Faruque Ahmed, whose directorship the NSC revoked yesterday.

Bulbul is the 16th president of the BCB. He is also the second former Bangladesh cricketer to ascend to the position after Faruque.

"I received many questions from you all, like 'Why don't you come here [to the BCB]?' or 'If given the opportunity, would you join?' To be honest, for the first time, I got a call from the NSC at the end of April. It was like, 'We will give you an opportunity,  will you accept it?' After receiving that call, I didn't look back.

"I had a target to honor that call. Today, our honourable board directors elected me as the president. I got the call from the honourable sports adviser. I was honored to receive such a call from him. Because of that call, I have a big responsibility today.

"The responsibility is not just Bangladesh's cricket, but cricket in Bangladesh. We will try to take cricket in Bangladesh forward. I believe that not only do 11 players play cricket, but the whole of Bangladesh plays cricket. You [the media] are also a very important part of Bangladesh cricket's development and sustainability.

"I hope we will work as a team. We have been doing this for a long time -- that's why we have been playing Test cricket for 25 years, performing well, with our U-19 team winning the World Cup and our women's team winning the Asia Cup. We can expect more good things in the coming days. We have the potential to achieve them. We are all part of a team supporting Bangladesh cricket.

"Let's work together to take Bangladesh cricket to a new height. I want to focus on some important matters rather than just discussions. We are planning accordingly, and we seek your cooperation," he added.

Earlier, BCB's media and communication committee chairman, Iftekhar Rahman Mithu, gave an introductory speech and explained how events had unfolded since yesterday.

"We received two letters from the NSC yesterday. One was regarding the change of one of their councillors, naming Aminul Islam Bulbul as the new nominee. The other letter was the withdrawal of their previously nominated director, Faruque Ahmed," Mithu said.

"Today, we held an emergency board meeting to fill the vacant post. We elected Aminul Islam Bulbul as the new president. We also filled the vacant vice-president positions, electing Nazmul Abedeen Fahim as vice-president 1 and Fahim Sinha as vice-president 2. We also made several other decisions," he added.