Harmony restored within Bangladesh board

Ali Asghar, the Bangladesh Cricket Board president, welcomed back Reazuddin Al Mamun to the board. © Getty Images

Despite resigning from his post of joint secretary and media committee chairman only three months ago, Reazuddin Al Mamun was reinstated by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) after a long executive meeting on Saturday.

It was a grim-looking Mamun who arrived for the meeting half-an-hour after it started, but he was all smiles when he later emerged with Ali Asghar, the board president, beside him.

"There was no seat reserved for me in the room but I was not surprised," said Mamun. "I came here to say goodbye to everybody and explain my position on why I tendered my resignation. And all of my colleagues didn't want me to quit. But I have decided to stay only when the president showed the letter that there was no further relation with Aston Moore."

The current crisis began in October when rumours circulated that Asghar had made a secret TV and sponsorship deal with Aston Moore, the BCB's marketing company. That led to Mamun's resignation. After Saturday's meeting, the board insisted that there were no such media links with Aston Moore.

Mahbubul Anam, the BCB's general secretary, was apologetic over a number of issues that had not been addressed before now. Mahbubul, who like his president came under severe criticism for failing to convene a meeting within the stipulated time and the confusion over Mamun's invitation, admitted that they failed to run the show properly in last few months that even led to the breach of constitution.

"As per constitution we are bound to hold at least one meeting in every three months but unfortunately we failed to meet the deadline for the third meeting," he told reporters. "We concede that it was our administrative failure. But thankfully the members have accepted our excuse and we promise that it would not happen in future."

He also revealed that a five-member committee involving the president, general secretary, chairman of marketing committee, chairman of media committee and chairman of finance committee will now look into the future TV deal. Mahbubul also said that the meeting dissolved all the present standing committees in an effort to start afresh with more dynamic ones.

"Since we wanted to start from the scratch we have dissolved the sub-committees and formed a seven-member body involving Aziz Al Kaiser Titoo, general secretary, two joint secretaries, Khondokar Jamiluddin, Shaheen Aftabur Reza and Asaduzzaman Kahinoor. The committees will submit the names within 48 hours for approval of the board. We have already short-listed the candidates from five to two and we are expecting to make a final decision within two days.

"The meeting also approved the upcoming home matches against Kenya. The Africans will arrive here on March 10 to play three to four ODIs if Zimbabwe do not come for the triangular series."