Tamim slams BCB election, says he would have won sans doubt

Tamim Iqbal, former Bangladesh Cricket Captain._11zon

Dhaka, Oct 8 — Former Bangladesh captain, who recently pulled himself out of the election of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), said he would have won the election if only he had taken part.

He said he didn't take part in the election because it wasn’t a real contest.

“Even if those 15 clubs were there or not, do you think people wouldn’t have voted for me? I never needed to chase anyone or make deals. I just wanted a clean election,” Tamim said in a press conference called by the Dhaka Club Cricket Organisers Association

Along with Tamim, at least a dozen other candidates pulled out, citing that the election was interfered with by the government.

Aminul Haque, a BNP leader, said the sports adviser, Asif Mahmud, intimidated the candidates to do what he wanted, an allegation that the sports adviser never addressed.

Before the election, a court had briefly barred 15 newly promoted third-division clubs from voting, then reversed that order just before polling day.

By Monday night, Aminul Islam was declared president again, unopposed. Two vice presidents, Shakhawat Hossain and Faruk Ahmed, were also elected without a contest.

To Tamim and many organisers, it felt like a performance, not an election.

The organisers’ group, which includes some of Dhaka’s biggest clubs, has now said they’ll boycott all league and divisional cricket until further notice.

“We don’t accept an illegitimate president,” Mohammedan Sporting Club councillor Masuduzzaman said flatly. “There’s nothing more to discuss.”

Tamim nodded to that frustration and went after the voting system, too.

“Why e-voting when everyone’s in the room?” he asked. “Thirty-four out of forty-three votes came electronically. Even the candidates had to vote that way. What’s the need for that?”

The standoff leaves domestic cricket hanging.

Tamim said he knows the boycott will hurt players — “of course it will,” he admitted — but he put the blame squarely elsewhere.

“The organisers should’ve thought about that before holding an election like this,” he said. “Cricketers deserve better. They deserve fairness, not deals made behind closed doors.” - UNB