Faruque Ahmed takes charge as new BCB president

Ahmed replaced Nazmul Hasan Papon who resigned amid political unrest in Bangladesh

Faruque-Ahmed-x Faruque Ahmed | via X

Former cricketer and chief selector Faruque Ahmed has replaced Nazmul Hasan Papon as the new president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) after the incumbent resigned in the wake of the political unrest in the country.

The BCB held an emergency meeting on Wednesday during which the 58-year-old Ahmed was elected.

Papon, who was in his fourth term, has been in London with his wife following the political unrest in the country which began with a huge student protest against quotas in jobs.

The Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League regime was toppled as a result and there has been widespread violence despite an interim government taking charge.

Papon was an Awami League MP since 2009. He, along with 16 other directors, left Dhaka on August 5.

"I resigned as a selector in the past because I opposed the system. Now, I aim to create a system that can run the board smoothly," Faruque was quoted as saying by 'Cricbuzz' on Wednesday.

Faruque played seven ODIs for Bangladesh between 1988 and 1999 and also served as a BCB chief selector for two terms - from 2003 to 2007 and from 2013 to 2016. He resigned without completing his second term after disagreement over selection process.

The National Sports Council (NSC) appointed Ahmed and Nazmul Abedin, a prominent local coach, as its new directors, replacing Jalal Yunus and Ahmed Sajjadul Alam. Following the announcement, they participated in the board of directors meeting held at the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

The meeting was attended by directors Mahbubul Anam, former cricketers Khaled Mahmud and Akram Khan, Salauddin Ahmed, Kazi Inam Ahmed, Iftekhar Ahmed and Fahim Sinha.

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