‘Do you think I’d be here if I were a fascist?’ — BCB president hits back at critics over financial scrutiny

Under fire from multiple directions, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Faruque Ahmed has dismissed allegations linking him to authoritarian political forces, saying such claims are entirely baseless.

Speaking at a prize-giving ceremony for a Third Division selection tournament on 3 May, Faruque said, "I have no ties to fascism. I'm serving as the BCB president under this government. If there were even a hint of such a link, do you think I would still be here?"

The BCB chief's strong rebuttal comes amid a wave of criticism centred around financial decisions, political associations, and alleged misuse of board resources. Reports have claimed that Faruque used BCB funds to host a political associate from Narayanganj in a hotel—an allegation he has flatly denied, calling it politically motivated.

Faruque took the opportunity to defend his leadership. "We do a lot of good work, but it often gets overlooked due to external pressure," he said. "Positive contributions are ignored when negativity dominates the narrative. I urge everyone to report the truth—only then can I be judged fairly."

One of the main controversies involves the transfer of BCB's fixed deposits worth Tk 250 crore to new banks, reportedly without board approval. Critics claim the transactions lacked transparency, but Faruque refrained from addressing the matter in detail.

The BCB has stated that the reallocation was made to secure better returns and was done through banks rated 'Green' and 'Yellow' by Bangladesh Bank. According to the board, Tk 238 crore was placed in these banks, while Tk 12 crore was used for operational expenses. The BCB claims the move has improved interest earnings by 2–5 percent compared to previous agreements.

Banks that previously held the funds include IFIC, Exim, UCB, Midland, Al-Arafah Islami, and several state-owned institutions. The deposits were reportedly shifted to banks such as Madhumati, Prime, Pubali, Brac, Mutual Trust, City, Bengal Commercial, Meghna, and Citizens. At least one of the banks—Midland—has rejected reports of being dropped, calling them "misleading and baseless." Faruque has yet to directly respond to these discrepancies.

Despite the surrounding controversies, Faruque said his focus remains on cricketing matters, particularly Bangladesh's upcoming home series against India in august.

A recent Times of India report had raised doubts about the tour due to diplomatic tensions, but Faruque insisted that the series is on schedule. "I've spoken with both Jay Shah and Debojit Saikia," he said. "Jay Shah was BCCI secretary during our first meeting and ICC chairman by the next. They've given me their word, and as far as I know, there is no change. The tour will go ahead."

India are expected to play three ODIs and three T20Is in Dhaka and Chattogram.