Minhajul Abedin set for BCB director role as election slate finalised

Former Bangladesh captain Minhajul Abedin is expected to step into the role of director at the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) after the Election Commission released the final slate of candidates following the withdrawal window on Monday, May 25. The move comes after Minhajul was listed under Category 1, with the final confirmation showing he will join the board alongside Moin Uddin Chowdhury as both are set to be appointed without opposition.

BCB director election: final candidate picture after withdrawals

1. On Monday (May 25), the Election Commission published the closing list of BCB director candidates after the withdrawal phase concluded.
2. Minhajul Abedin, a former Bangladesh international who later joined the BCB in multiple roles, was confirmed as one of the two Category 1 nominees from the Chattogram division.
3. Shariful Islam withdrew from the nomination, leaving Minhajul and Moin Uddin Chowdhury as the only remaining candidates for the Chattogram director spots under Category 1.
4. With two places available for Chattogram and only two names left in the fray, both Minhajul and Moin Uddin Chowdhury are scheduled to become directors unopposed.

Minhajul, who has served the board since retirement, has spent more than a decade on the selection side—starting as a selector before moving into the chief selector role. He is also currently part of the board’s ad-hoc committee.

Speaking on Monday, Minhajul described the appointment as an honour while also acknowledging the added expectations that come with the position. “It’s a great privilege to join BCB as a director but along with that my responsibility increased a lot. After retirement I joined the board and worked in different capacities and now will try to share those experiences in the board room,” he said.

He added that his focus will include strengthening the game in his home region. “Since I am from Chattogram, I will try to revive Chattogram’s cricket. Regional cricket first started in Chattogram and we will try to revive regional cricket again,” Minhajul said.

Where contests will be held ahead of June 7

1. The final publication after the withdrawal stage also clarified that Category 1 contests will be held only in the Khulna and Barishal divisions, alongside the Dhaka club category.
2. The BCB election is scheduled for June 7.
3. In the Khulna division, Shafiqul Alam, Shantanu Islam and Mohammad Abdus Salam will compete for two director seats.
4. In Barishal, Muntasir Alam Chowdhury and Mizanur Rahman will fight for a single available position.

Earlier in the process, the initial list had already confirmed unopposed elections for candidates from the Dhaka, Sylhet, Rangpur and Rajshahi divisions. It also included Sirajuddin Mohammad Alamgir as the lone Category 3 candidate.

The Dhaka division will be represented by Syed Bin Osman and S M Abdullah Al Fuad, while Abdul Qayyum Chowdhury is set to represent Sylhet. Mirza Masud Amin will represent Rangpur, and Mir Shakrul Alam Simanto will represent Rajshahi.

Withdrawals in the club category and remaining Category 2 contenders

1. Two candidates withdrew from the club category: Lutfur Rahman from Legends of Rupganj and Mahmudur Rahman from Old Dhaka Cricketers.
2. As a result, 16 candidates remain in contention for 12 director posts in Category 2.
3. The remaining Category 2 candidates are Fahim Sinha (Abahani Limited), Masuduzzaman (Mohammedan Sporting Club Ltd), Asif Rabbani (Shinepukur Cricket Club), Fayzur Rahman (Uttara Cricket Club), Yasir Mohammad Faisal Ashik (Dhanmondi Sports Club-Bashundhara Riders), and Tamim Iqbal (Old DOHS Sports Club).
4. Other names still in the race include Amzad Hossain (Tristate Cricketers-Dhaka Sports Cricket Club), Mirza Yasir Abbas (Azad Sporting Club), Israfil Khusro (Axiom Cricketers), Rafiqul Islam Babu (Indira Road Krira Chakra), Sarkar Mahbub Ahmed Shahin (Dhaka Wanderers Club) and Shanian Taneem Navin (Dhaka Mariners Youngs Club).
5. The final group of Category 2 candidates includes Borhanul Islam (Tejgaon Cricket Academy), Shafiq Ahmed Salam (Purbachal Sporting Club) and Imrose Ahmed (Kathalbagan Green Crescent).

How the 25-member board is structured

The BCB board will be made up of 25 members drawn from multiple routes. Twelve directors will be chosen by Dhaka club councillors under Category 2, while 10 directors will be elected by regional and district councillors under Category 1. One director will represent organisations such as public universities and former cricketers as part of Category 3, and two directors will be nominated by the National Sports Council.

After the director elections, the elected members are set to select the next BCB president at a later stage.