Naimur and Mahmud elected BCB directors

The long-awaited BCB elections were held in Dhaka on Thursday, with two former Bangladesh captains, Naimur Rahman and Khaled Mahmud, being elected directors from their respective categories.

Nineteen directors were already elected unopposed last Friday and Monday after Saber Hossain Chowdhury's panel pulled out of the election, citing irregularities. That left incumbent BCB president, Nazmul Hasan's panel, to sweep the election.

In addition, Hasan and incumbent ad-hoc committee members Ahmed Sajjadul Alam and Ismail Haider Mallick are automatic BCB directors in the National Sports Council's quota.

The BCB president will be elected by 25 directors on Friday afternoon. As a result, and since Hasan is set to be the only presidential candidate, his position will be filled by someone else at a later time.

Meanwhile, with only three posts to be contested, it left a rather empty feeling on election day at the National Sports Council headquarters.

Mahmud, who captained nine Tests and 15 ODIs in 2003, defeated Gazi Ashraf Hossain in category 3 by a margin of 25-18 votes. In this category, former cricketers, education boards, the BKSP (sports institute), different armed forces, and some other institutions are councillors eligible to vote.

Ashraf is also a former Bangladesh captain and had been a board director between 2009 and 2012 as well as an ad-hoc committee member since November last year.

Mahmud was elated with the victory but said he would not give up his coaching career. He had earlier quit as member of the BCB ad-hoc committee to coach BPL side Chittagong Kings, but while he may not hold this position, he will continue to coach Dhaka Premier league side Prime Bank Cricket Club.

"I was confident that I would win," Mahmud told reporters. "I would be inclined to work in the development of the game. I am ready to give up BPL coaching but have to stay with Prime Bank in the domestic competition as that is my profession. I think if you are honest, you can do both."

Naimur, Bangladesh's captain in their inaugural Test, won as a director from category 1 alongside Manzur Kader and Saiful Alam.