Akram Khan steps down as BCB selector

Akram Khan, the former Bangladesh captain, has resigned from his position as chief selector, a week before his contract was to expire. The announcement came following Chittagong Divisional Sports Association's decision to nominate him as its councillor ahead of the BCB elections, which is likely to be held in the first week of October. He has been a selector since 2007, and became the chief selector in 2011.

Akram will continue in his role till the home series against New Zealand ends in early November, by a special arrangement.

"I sent my resignation letter on September 18, and it is up to the BCB to accept it," Akram told reporters. "My extended contract ends this month. But I have volunteered to work during the New Zealand series because [selector Minhazul Abedin] Nannu bhai is performing the Hajj during this time. Otherwise, we would be down to one selector - Habibul Bashar.

"We will announce the Bangladesh team within the next two days. There won't be too many changes, as I have always maintained. The average age of our side is 25, so they can play together for another eight to ten years. So there will [be] very little change in this series, if any."

Akram, a former Bangladesh captain, will not only hold voting power as a councillor but he will contest the election for the position of a director. This is why he has to leave his position as a BCB employee as it is illegal for them to contest an election.

He is one of 71 councillors from divisional and district associations, who will elect 10 BCB directors. There are 58 councillors from the Dhaka clubs who will elect 12 directors while in the third category, forty-five councillors from various organisations including education boards, BKSP, police, etc, will elect one director. The National Sports Council, the country's regulatory board for sports, will nominate three directors from 15 councillors, which includes ten former cricketers.

The cricketers are former national captains Khaled Mahmud and Gazi Ashraf Hossain, Shahedur Rahman, Dr Asaduzzaman Misha, Mohammad Ali, Ahsanullah Hasan, Hannan Sarkar, Salim Shahed, Niamur Rashid and ASM Faruque. Meanwhile, BCB president Nazmul Hassan has also picked five former captains in his quota of councillors - Shamim Kabir, Roquibul Hasan, Shafiqul Haque Heera, Faruque Ahmed and Khaled Mashud. Bangladesh's first Test captain Naimur Rahman is also among the representatives, having claimed the councillroship from his native Manikganj district.

This year's election will have the most number of cricketers as councillors.