Independent probe committee recommends 'free and fair elections'

Retired Supreme Court judge AKM Asaduzzaman, chairman of the five-member independent probe committee formed by National Sports Council to investigate allegations of widespread irregularities in the Bangladesh Cricket Board's 2025 election, said on Sunday that they have recommended a constitutional amendment to hold free and fair elections of the board.

NSC formed the committee after Tamim Iqbal led a request for investigation into last year's BCB elections claiming that 50 out of 76 clubs in the capital supported the call for a probe and later the governing body of sports federations of the country insisted that they will take a call on BCB's future based upon the report prepared by the probe committee.

"As you know, we are here today because we were tasked with an investigation. We have completed our probe and have come to submit the report today. We have officially handed it over," Asaduzzaman told reporters at NSC premises after submitting the report.

"We tried to maintain absolute neutrality throughout the process. We questioned everyone we found to have any involvement. Based on what we discovered, we have compiled a concise and fair report without making baseless accusations. We have reported on the election observations as we found them. You will understand the details once you review the report; we haven't targeted anyone specific, but rather provided our neutral observations and recommendations on the election process," he said.

"It wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment on that (report) right now. We have submitted the report to the Ministry. They will review it and disclose the necessary information," he said.

"I must emphasize again: we are not a judicial court. We weren't there to press charges or follow a criminal trial procedure like Section 432. That wasn't our mandate. We conducted an inquiry to see if the legal procedures were followed correctly. We didn't "accuse" anyone. We reported on the system, what happened, and what didn't," he said.

"We have provided some guidelines on how to ensure future elections are free from irregularities and how the board's operations can be improved," he said.

"Yes, that (constitutional amendment) is included (in the recommendation)," he said

Amzad added that former sports advisor Shojib Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan, who is claimed to be the mastermind of the BCB election mechanism, did not appear in front of the committee despite requesting him to appear.

"We did reach out to him to hear his side of the story and see if he had anything to add-not as an accused party, but for his input. We gave him time and called him, but he did not appear before the committee," said Asaduzzaman.

The investigation committee formed on March 11 is headed by Retired Supreme Court judge AKM Asaduzzaman. Other members include Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Md Selim Fakir, Joint Commissioner (DB Admin & South) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Mohammad Nasirul Islam, sports journalist ATM Sayeed Uzzaman and Supreme Court advocate Barrister Saleh Akram Samrat.

Cricbuzz understands that the BCB is expected to have a 11-member ad-hoc body soon as the Aminul Islam-led board is all set to be dissolved with another former skipper expected to lead the interim board.