Tamim finds BCB elections ‘dirty’, ‘arbitrary’

In a dramatic turn of events on the final day of nomination withdrawals, former Bangladesh national team captain Tamim Iqbal officially pulled out of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) presidential election on Wednesday, October 1.

An angry Tamin denounced the entire electoral process as “ugly,” “arbitrary,” and “a black mark” on the institution.

The announcement followed widespread speculation late Tuesday night that Tamim might boycott the election, a rumour that proved true when he arrived at the BCB office at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur around 10:00am to formally withdraw his candidacy.

Visibly disappointed and visibly angry, Tamim – typically media-accessible and articulate – offered only brief but scathing remarks to waiting journalists. “Today, cricket has lost 100 percent,” he declared immediately after submitting his withdrawal papers.

He went on to deliver a sharp rebuke of the BCB’s governance, stating: “You want to stop fixing cricket, but first stop fixing BCB.”

Tamim, who had filed his nomination earlier in the election cycle, made it clear that his withdrawal was not a retreat but a protest. “Our nomination withdrawal is a protest against arbitrariness and dirt,” he said, accusing the current election framework of being manipulated to serve vested interests.

Calling the process “extremely arbitrary and downright dirty,” he added: “Nothing can be more ugly than this—whatever they want is being done. This cannot be a beautiful process.”

When questioned about his decision to enter the race despite knowing the system’s flaws, only to withdraw at the last minute, Tamim stood firm. His participation, he implied, was an attempt to reform from within—but the lack of transparency and fairness left him no choice but to take a stand.

In his final statement outside the BCB office, Tamim delivered a sobering verdict: “This election has become a black mark for the Bangladesh Cricket Board.”

His exit leaves the BCB presidential race with fewer credible challengers and intensifies concerns among players, fans, and cricket analysts about the credibility and independence of the board’s leadership selection process. Many now fear that without genuine reform, the integrity of Bangladesh cricket’s administration—and by extension, the sport itself—remains at risk