The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) goes to the polls Monday, but almost nothing about it feels normal.
Half the candidates are gone. Tamim Iqbal’s camp has walked out, crying foul over what they call “a fixed match.” And a last-minute court order has dragged the already murky voter list back into the spotlight.
The Supreme Court on Sunday overturned a High Court decision that had barred 15 disputed clubs from voting — a ruling that could tilt the field in favor of incumbent president Aminul Islam.
Those clubs, promoted from third-division qualifiers in what rivals call a “midnight promotion,” can now cast their ballots.
Aminul, who has run the board since June, insists he’s not leaning on political help.
“I didn’t feel any government pressure,” he told reporters in Mirpur. “If people think I’m not right for the job, I can step away. But I believe continuing is important for cricket.”
Not everyone buys that. Abdullah Al Fuad Reduan, a director candidate from Jamalpur, quit the race Sunday afternoon, saying the process makes the "old midnight vote" - a reference to the much-talked about scandal surrounding the 2018 national election - look clean.
He complained that electronic and postal ballots were being misused. His exit leaves Aminul and operations chief Nazmul Abedin unopposed in Dhaka Division.
The election, held every four years, will fill 23 board seats — 10 from districts and divisions, 12 from Dhaka’s clubs, and one from former players and institutions. The National Sports Council will later nominate two more.
Several heavyweights, including former Bangladesh spinner Abdur Razzak and singer Asif Akbar, have already been elected unopposed.
But the boycott has cast a long shadow. Forty-eight Dhaka clubs have warned they will stay away from all cricket if the polls aren’t delayed.
Aminul calls the unrest “part of the process,” but even he admitted, “Here, a lot of no-balls have been bowled.”
Monday’s vote will likely secure his position. What it won’t likely secure is peace inside Bangladesh cricket.