Who will be the BCB president if Papon is the minister?
Cabinet Secretary Md. Mahbub Hossain has announced the names of 36 members of the new cabinet of the 12th Jatiya Sangsad elected members. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hasan Papon's name is also included in the newly announced list of ministers.
On Wednesday (January 10) night, 25 full ministers and 11 state ministers were announced and were invited to take oath. The new ministers and state ministers will take oath on Thursday evening.
Although there is no conflict between the board president and the ministry, since Papon's name was announced among the 36 members, there have been rumors about who will be the BCB president or whether he can stay.
There is no provision in the Cricket Board and the Sports Act that a federation cannot be chaired by a minister. He was elected president of the Cricket Board for four years. He has tenure as BCB president till September 2025. Papon has been the president of the cricket board since 2013.
Earlier the president of the cricket board was nominated by the government. In most cases many ministers of the government have performed the duties. Anisul Islam Mahmud, Abu Saleh Mohammad Mostafizur Rahman and Saber Hossain Chowdhury, who are in the list of former presidents of the Cricket Board, served together in both the ministerial and board president positions.
Anisul Islam Mahmud was the president of BCB from 1987-90. At that time he was in charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Abu Saleh Mohammad Mustafizur Rahman is the successor of Anis Mahmud in both the posts of Board President and Foreign Minister. Saber Hossain Chowdhury was the president of BCB from 1996-2001. He was the Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Local Government & Rural Development during his tenure as BCB President.
A few of the BCB presidents in the 1990s got ministry. After 2001, no minister served as the president of BCB. AHM Mustafa Kamal got the ministry after stepping down as BCB president.
Today cricket has a lot of public involvement and international reach. So handling the cricket board along with the ministry will be a big challenge for Papon. If Papon does not step down, he can continue as BCB president. Anyone should be elected president within BCB's own rules. There is no opposition to having a board president with the ministry.