At the launching event of the newly-formed platform Bangladesh District and Divisional Sports Organisers Association (BDDSOA) yesterday in Dhaka, former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal made a request to the councillors who will cast their votes in the next Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) election.

"I request all of you to only elect those people who have basic cricketing knowledge and have a dream to take Bangladesh cricket to a certain place," Tamim said at the event held at the National Sports Council Auditorium in the capital.

The two qualities Tamim wanted to see in a BCB board director – rudimentary understanding of the game, and a dream to elevate the country's cricket -- seem reasonable enough. And for a few decades, the BCB has had plenty of directors who have fulfilled the first condition but failed the latter.

Over the years and even now, many former cricketers have been part of BCB board of directors, which includes Tamim's uncle Akram Khan, a former national team captain and currently the chairman of three standing committees.

The current president of the board, Faruque Ahmed, is also a former Bangladesh skipper and is the first former cricketer to ascend to this post.

These cricketer-turned-board officials know the intricacies of the game and in theory should be able to use their insights as former cricketers and sketch out plans to take Bangladesh cricket to the next level.

But unfortunately, that hasn't been the case.

Even with a former cricketer at the helm, the board has thus far remained more focused on off-field issues and the inner struggle for power has seemingly pushed cricket to the background.

The current board officials seemingly don't have the "dream" that Tamim spoke about, and because of that, cricket in Bangladesh is stagnating.

The importance of board officials having the "dream" can be traced in Bangladesh cricket's most defining triumph till now, winning the 1997 ICC Trophy.

After learning that the tournament Malaysia will be played on astro-turfs, something the Bangladesh cricketers had no experience of, the board decided it would import and install it on the ground. But in those days, the BCB did not have the finances to pull it off.

At that time, Raisuddin Ahmed, a key organiser in the nascent days of Bangladesh cricket who breathed his last in 2021, was vice-president of the board. As a top official at Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Raisuddin used his influence to help the board fly in astro-turfs from the UK, free of cost.

The cricketers played two seasons of the Dhaka League on the astro-turf, an experience that gave them an edge at the ICC Trophy, and the rest is history.

The BCB is seemingly missing such long-term thinking even with vast resources at hand and former cricketers working in the board.

Now, if the councillors heed to Tamim's request, set aside personal gains and elect visionaries that want to take the game forward, the BCB, in theory, should change for the better. But unfortunately, things are not that simple.

Tamim made this plea at a platform of district and divisional level organisers, and according to the current BCB constitution, only 10 of the 25 directors would get elected from them.

Meanwhile, 12 directors will be from Dhaka-based clubs and 76 of the 171 voting councillors will also be from the capital, ensuring the monopoly of the said clubs over the country's cricket.

The Faruque-led board had moved to amend this constitution and bring parity, but those attempts got paused indefinitely in January, in the face of protests from the said clubs. Unless the current constitution is amended, the regional cricket organisers can't really bring any notable change in the country' cricket. So, before urging the regional organisers, Tamim could meet with representative from the Dhaka clubs, convince them to withdraw their opposition to constitution amendment and help bring meaningful change in the board.