Sports Desk:

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Saturday decided to suspend its controversial constitution reform committee. The decision was announced following an extensive meeting with directors at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.

The move was made with an aim to implement changes and expand the committee for broader stakeholder.

“You all know that we formed a constitution reform committee. Sunday we decided to suspend the committee. We will make some changes and expand the committee. We will figure out the terms of reference and a range that they have to follow. After that they will start working again,” BCB board director Mahbub Anam told reporters following the meeting.

“As I said, we will make some changes and extend the committee. There will be a framework about how they will change the constitution, involving the stakeholders,” he said.

“First of all, they didn’t submit any amendment to the board or the NSC. It was also discussed that the amendment people are talking about is incorrect. BCB thinks the whole process should be more transparent since this is a constitution we are talking about, which is for the public to see. That’s why we thought we needed to suspend the process. We need to put a stop to the discussion. We thought the committee needs to change and expand since we need the involvement of the stakeholders. That’s why we are thinking that way,” he added.

‘’The change and extension will take place in an orderly manner, and it will include all the stakeholders. Dhaka clubs are not the only stakeholders; there are districts and other organizations. We want to include all of them; that’s why we are talking about the change and extension,’’ he further explained.

The decision to suspend the reform committee is expected to resolve the ongoing conflict between the clubs and the board, which has dominated cricket discussions in recent weeks.

The BCB also addressed concerns about ongoing payment issues in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

Iftekhar Ahmed Mithu acknowledged their failure to run the show smoothly.

“We are accepting it (our failure to run BPL smoothly) and addressing it (how to get over it),” he said.

Meanwhile, BCB said that they will sit with the franchises in the next two days to solve the issue. “We are handling it contractually. We send them letters so that they meet the contractual obligations. We are following it, and in the next 48 hours, we will ask the franchise owners and sit with them,” said Mahbub.

“I still think BPL is a good property for our cricket. It brings a lot to the table. We need to finish the tournament, and it’s true it is already nearing the end. The issue arises almost after the 50% games. So, the tournament has to go on. The action we are talking about is mostly legal. We are taking those actions. From our end, maybe we have some shortcomings. If we had been a bit careful, we could have avoided it. We have to admit where we made mistakes, and we have to avoid repeating them. For that we have to be bold,’’ he added.

BCB IS ALSO CONSIDERING THE POSSIBILITY OF AN INTERIM ELECTION.

“Yes, we discussed it. Unfortunately, since we are the directors, people think that we will do all the work. But the board runs on a corporate structure. But we talked about it, and we are seeking help from our legal team to know more about the election process. Then the board will decide,” Mahbub stated when his attention was drawn regarding possibility of interim election to fill the vacant post.