Abdur Razzak resigns as selector to contest in BCB elections

Former left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak has resigned as a Bangladesh national selector after deciding to contest in the upcoming BCB elections. Razzak, 43, collected his nomination papers to stand as a director candidate from the Khulna division on October 6.

Razzak played 13 Tests, 153 ODIs and 34 T20Is for Bangladesh, and remains the third-highest wicket-taker for his country in ODIs. He is one of 61 nominations for the 23 directors' position that will be contested in the upcoming BCB elections.

The general members body, known as the councillors, will elect 23 of the 25 board directors, and the BCB president will be elected from that pool of 25 to serve a four-year term. The most prominent candidates are the incumbent BCB chief Aminul Islam and Tamim Iqbal, who have both announced that they will contest for the board president.

"I had the honour of playing for the national team for 14 years and the privilege of serving as a national selector for over four years," Razzak, who has been a selector for the Bangladesh men's team since 2021, said in a statement. "I believe the time has come for me to step down from this position to explore the possibilities of contributing to the game that has given me so much, on a larger scale if the opportunity presents itself. I feel this is the right thing to do."

Following Hannan Sarkar's resignation in February last year, Razzak was one of two members in the selection panel alongside chief Gazi Ashraf Hossain.

Reflecting on Razzak's tenure as a selector, Ashraf praised his colleague. "He was an invaluable member of the panel and brought his undoubted experience and vision to the selection process," Ashraf said. "We thank him for his contribution and wish him the very best for the future, which we hope will remain closely connected with Bangladesh cricket."