Aminul Haque, sports secretary of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and former captain of the national football team, has made serious allegations of government interference in the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) elections held on Monday.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Zia Inter-Volleyball Tournament at the Paltan Volleyball Stadium on Tuesday, Aminul claimed that the sports adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan exerted improper influence over the electoral process, including directly contacting and pressuring council members.
“I was shocked to learn that the sports adviser called several councilors and pressured them to vote a certain way,” Aminul said. “Many of them contacted me personally to report this. I never imagined he would behave in such a manner.”
He stressed that the BCB belongs to all citizens of Bangladesh, not to any individual or political authority. “The sports adviser has effectively turned the cricket board into his personal domain,” Aminul alleged. “He openly declared he would make Bulbul Bhai, Aminul Islam Bulbul, president at any cost. This is not just arbitrary behaviour. It is direct government intervention, and I believe cricket fans across the country will never accept it.”
Aminul also raised concerns about the legitimacy of the election framework. He pointed out that four directors were elected from clubs that had previously been involved in administrative disputes. He referred to a pending legal challenge against a letter issued by Bulbul, which sought to appoint council members through an ad hoc committee. This letter was contested by district and divisional sports organisers through a writ petition.
“The High Court has already ruled that a full bench will hear the matter and issue a fresh decision,” Aminul noted. “If the court ultimately declares that letter unlawful, the entire election process could be invalidated, even though members have already been elected.”
He criticised what he described as inconsistent and manipulative handling of club affiliations, citing repeated reversals involving 15 clubs. “First, they wanted to involve the Anti-Corruption Commission. Then they suspended certain clubs. Later, they lifted the suspensions. This back and forth, this pattern of manipulation, has deeply troubled the sports community.”
Most seriously, Aminul alleged financial impropriety in the electoral process. “I have credible information that financial transactions took place during the BCB elections,” he said. “If elected directors are engaging in such practices, how can we trust them to safeguard the future of Bangladeshi cricket? This has created serious concern among all of us who care about the sport.”
Concluding his remarks, Aminul iterated that athletes and sports stakeholders would not recognise an election conducted under such questionable circumstances. “We cannot, and will not, accept this,” he said. “Cricket deserves transparency, fairness and independence, not political control.”