NSC cancels Faruque’s BCB directorship

The National Sports Council (NSC) revoked president Faruque Ahmed's directorship from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) yesterday, after eight of the nine board of directors at the BCB sent a no confidence letter against Faruque earlier in the day.

NSC issued a press release late on Thursday, saying it made the decision on the basis of majority of the board directors expressing no confidence in Faruque and after assessing the investigation committee's report on the controversy-laden last season of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

The end of Faruque's directorship will also likely spell the end of his presidency at the cricket board, as a non-director cannot be the president of the BCB.

Faruque was one of the two NSC nominated directors in the current BCB board alongside Nazmul Abedeen Fahim and was elected as president of the board on August 21, replacing Nazmul Hassan Papon, who stepped down following the ouster of the Awami League regime.

NSC's decision was the climax to day-long drama centered around the BCB presidency.

The day began with former Bangladesh cricketer Aminul Islam Bulbul telling The Daily Star that he has accepted a proposal from the NSC to succeed Faruque as the next BCB president.

This confirmation from Bulbul came a day after Faruque was reportedly asked to no longer continue as the BCB president by sports advisor Asif Mahmud.

Faruque was still determined to carry on as board president, as he demanded a "valid reason" for him to step away.

"I'm not thinking about stepping down for the time being. Nobody has given me a valid reason to do so," Faruque told The Daily Star on Thursday.

"Why should I leave when others continue in their positions? First, I need to know the actual reason. Second, I didn't take this role on my own, I was selected. Since I was brought here, I deserve to know what my crime is and why I should resign," he added.

In the evening, it was learned that eight of the nine board directors – Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, Fahim Sinha, Mohammad Saiful Alam Swapon Chowdhury, Iftekhar Rahman Mithu, Mahbub Anam, Kazi Inam Ahmed, Manjur Alam and Mohammad Salahuddin – have sent a signed letter of no confidence to NSC.

Akram Khan was the only board director who did not sign it.

The directors urged the NSC to take the necessary legal steps to cancel Faruque's directorship at the board, which would in turn make him ineligible to be the BCB president. Later, Faruque had told media that he was considering legal steps against the letter.  Meanwhile, the drama surrounding the presidency is escalating the risk of an ICC suspension. The global cricket governing body has suspended Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka in the recent past citing government interference and it remains to be seen how ICC views what's currently happening in BCB.