Former Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Saber Hossain Chowdhury sees ‘ego’ of the present president of the Cricket Board Nazmul Hassan Papon behind the current stalemate in the country’s cricket.
Comments weresought from Saber in a television talk following Papon’s angry reaction against cricketers for placing their different demands including pay hike before media before discussing with him and enforcing a strike
Citing BCB president’s approach as immature, like one that of a school child, he said, “it seems like I am the king of the Cricket. For anything, everyone has to come to me.”
Saber questioned, “Shall I not consider the greater interest of cricket, if someone doesn’t come to me?”
“Is it not only a methodological problem in this regard?” he said.
He said, “even if we assume that the cricketers have made a mistake. Does that mean we'll be just sitting down? In that case it seems to me just an ego problem.”
He also said “Will the whole cricket be stopped, if someone doesn’t come to me to make the demands? How the stalemate would go if you remain with your ego?”
He called Papon to sit with the cricketers and listen to them leaving behind his ego, saying the board is the guardian of cricket and has to come up to solve the problems as guardians have more responsibility.
Bangladesh’s top cricketers of national team and first class level have enforced a strike to realize their 11-point demand on Monday with an ultimatum of abstinence from playing any form of cricket until the demands are met. In response, , Papon said in a press conference that he expressed his dissatisfaction over raising the issues before media before discussing with him calling it a conspiracy against Bangladesh cricket.
The stalemate has been created ahead of a scheduled India tour when Bangladesh team was due to play three T20 and two test matches.
Talking about the demands raised by the cricketers Saber said we must think of the international standards in respect of cricketers’ payment as we are no longer an associate member, rather a full member of International Cricket Council (ICC).
“And Bangladesh Cricket Board is the fifth richest among the governing bodies of test playing countries in terms of assets, well above Sri Lanka, West Indies, even Australia.
He also said, “I am not saying that all the demands of the cricketers have to be met immediately, but, of course, there could be dialogue to reach a solution”
Despite supporting the demands, he however, said the cricketers have gone to the board first, adding the crickets probably thought that they would not get a solution from the board.
He said the whole cricket should not be damaged for only one mistake by them.
Talking on the overall situation of the Bangladesh cricket scene, the former BCB president said, “it seems that the whole thing has been trapped in hand of some interest group, observing that there is no precedence of the change that have been made in the BCB constitution in 2013 in the cricket world, which gives some clubs uneven importance, even enabling them to vote twice.
“Now those who are elected in this process put the interest of the club above the national interest.
“Two organizations have established control over all cricketing clubs in the country by getting their own councilors elected through this process.”
He also pointed out that in spite of the rule that no directors can be involved in any kind of business, the existing directors of the board would be found involved in everything starting from TV sponsor, if investigated.
He also alleged manipulation of the contractors in hand of some influential directors.
“Thus when the business is involved,, the interest of cricket no more served,” Saber said.