The process behind Faruque Ahmed becoming BCB president

It was almost certain that former national team captain and former chief selector Faruque Ahmed would become the new president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). After an emergency meeting at the Ministry of Youth and Sports on Wednesday, this was confirmed.

Nazmul Hassan Papon, who served as BCB president for three terms, resigned, and Faruque was appointed as the new president, BCB confirmed in a statement on Wednesday.

Faruque's appointment as BCB president required a specific process, as directly electing him would have led to Bangladesh facing an ICC ban due to government interference. Faruque was neither a councillor of a district sports association nor a club, making him ineligible to be directly elected as BCB president. According to the BCB constitution, Faruque first had to become a councillor, which allowed him to become a BCB director. He was then elected as president by the board's directors.

The BCB constitution mandates that two directors be nominated by the National Sports Council (NSC). Previously, these positions were held by Jalal Yunus, head of the cricket operations department, and Ahmed Sajjadul Alam Bobby, head of the tournament committee.

To accommodate Faruque and another candidate, veteran coach Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, the NSC secretary, Aminul Islam, instructed both Jalal Yunus and Bobby to resign. Although Jalal Yunus complied, Bobby resisted, asking the NSC to take action. Eventually, Bobby's councillorship was revoked, and Faruque and Nazmul Abedeen Fahim were appointed as BCB directors. 

Initially, Nazmul Abedeen was also considered for the presidency, but as time passed, Faruque's appointment became inevitable.

Faruque Ahmed, now 58, played for the Bangladesh national team for 11 years. Despite the long tenure, he played relatively few matches because, during much of his international career, Bangladesh was not an ICC associate member.

When Bangladesh became an associate member in 1997, Faruque had already played seven ODIs between 1988 and 1999. He continued to play domestic cricket until 2001. 

After retiring, Faruque quickly became involved with the BCB, serving as chief selector twice. He was first appointed head of the selection panel in 2003 and served until 2007. He returned to the same role in December 2013, replacing Akram Khan, and remained chief selector until 2016. With the recent political changes, Faruque has now ascended to the highest position in Bangladesh cricket.