Tamim tops BCB election as new board takes shape

Former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal emerged as the highest vote-getter in the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) election held at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Sunday, strengthening his position ahead of the formation of the country's new cricket governing body.

Voting took place at the BCB headquarters from morning until 4:00 pm, with vote counting concluding two hours later. The election was held to fill 23 director positions across three categories - Regional and District Cricket Associations, Dhaka Metropolitan Clubs and Other Representatives.

Tamim, who currently serves as president of the BCB's ad-hoc committee, contested from Category-2 representing Dhaka clubs as the councilor of Old DOHS Sports Club. He secured 73 votes, the highest among all candidates in the club category.

Syed Ibrahim Ahmed and Israfil Khasru finished joint second with 72 votes each, while Masuduzzaman received 70 votes. Faisal Yasir polled 68 votes, Fahim Sinha and Shahnian Tanim secured 66 votes apiece, Asif Rabbani collected 64 votes and Mirza Yasir Abbas earned 63 votes.

The remaining successful candidates from the club category were Rafiqul Islam Babu with 53 votes, Dr Mahbub Shamim with 41 and Sakef Ahmed Salam, who also received 41 votes.

A total of 16 candidates contested for 12 director positions from the Dhaka Metropolitan Clubs category. Of the 76 eligible votes, 74 were cast. Borhanul Pappu (40 votes), Amjad Hossain (32), Fayazur Rahman Mitu (23) and Imroz Ahmed (20) failed to secure election.

Earlier, the BCB Election Commission had cleared candidates for the election after scrutiny of nomination papers on May 23. Two candidates - Tanmoy Uddin Khan Khayishnu of the Gopalganj District Sports Association and Sirajuddin Md Alamgir of the University of Chittagong - were elected unopposed from Category-1 and Category-3 respectively.

The election marks a significant milestone for Bangladesh cricket administration following a period of transition. Earlier this year, the National Sports Council dissolved the previous BCB board and appointed an ad-hoc committee led by Tamim to oversee cricket affairs and conduct fresh elections.

The newly elected directors will now join the board alongside nominees from the National Sports Council to form the next BCB Board of Directors. The board's first major task will be electing a president, a position Tamim is widely expected to contest after securing the strongest mandate in the election.

With the voting process completed peacefully and a new board taking shape, attention will now turn to the leadership race and the direction Bangladesh cricket will take under its next administration.