BNP leader Ishrak Hossain issued a stark warning on Sunday, saying that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) could be laid siege if what he described as overreach continues. Speaking at an event in Bijoynagar, Dhaka, Ishrak accused authorities of attempting to “engineer” control of the cricket body and said his party would not sit back and watch one group seize power.

“If they try to take over the BCB by election-engineering, so that people from one party can dominate it in future while we only look on, that will never be allowed. We will not permit it — that is our clear message,” he said.

Ishrak criticised what he called the politicisation of the BCB and set out his preferred approach to selecting councillors for the board. He argued that well-known sports organisers should be nominated as councillors rather than relying on ad-hoc committees or political appointees.

“We do not want political horse-trading here. Let the reputable sports organisers be nominated as councillors. There is no rule that councillors must be appointed from ad-hoc committees,” he said.
“If they make a fuss about this and go too far, we will, if necessary, besiege the BCB.”

He further alleged pressure had been put on the district commissioner (DC) to change nominated councillors and warned of a political response if such moves were pushed through.

“They have attempted to pressurise the DC to replace councillors. If they try to push that through, we are prepared to confront it politically. Why are you trying to bring politics into the BCB? Stop interfering in various places — stop this meddling.”

At a Glance — Ishrak’s Complaints and Demands