Aminul Islam Bulbul has plunged into a busy schedule right after taking charge as the President of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). Yesterday, he visited the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, inspecting various areas including the BCB Academy, the indoor facilities, and other departments. According to Bulbul, umpires will have to play a major role in the advancement of cricket in the country. Without that, the game cannot reach its desired goals. Perhaps this is why he’s particularly focused on this area.
Bulbul stated that he wants to move forward with the speed of T20 cricket — fast and effective — and he’s already begun his work without delay. He now shoulders the responsibility of addressing the mountain of complaints and criticisms directed at the BCB. He aims to move forward with everyone on board. A board meeting was also held yesterday under his leadership.
Bulbul’s start at the BCB had somewhat of a political flair. On Friday, he arrived at the BCB premises in director Iftekhar Ahmed Mithu’s car, where a group of outsiders greeted him with slogans like, “Welcome, Bulbul Bhai!” Even yesterday, many lesser-known faces from the cricketing community were seen accompanying him — almost resembling a political leader visiting his constituency.
However, Bulbul didn’t indulge in theatrics; he focused on his job — inspecting everything firsthand, which is his responsibility as board president. This was his first step toward realizing the vision he brings. Such unfamiliar faces around BCB are nothing new though; similar scenes were witnessed during the tenures of Faruque Ahmed and Nazmul Hassan Papon. But Bulbul doesn’t seem to be someone easily swayed or distracted by such elements.
Faruque Ahmed was removed from his position following allegations of cricket’s decline, and Bulbul has made that issue his top priority. He’s already started giving directions on how to restore the reputation of the BCB and how to bring fans back to the stadiums. BCB director Mithu mentioned this after the board meeting. Bulbul also discussed his roadmap for the board’s progress. Prior to the board meeting, he even participated in a meeting of the Umpires Committee, emphasizing that umpires must play a pivotal role in the advancement of cricket — without them, the game will not reach its intended destination.
Speaking about the recent performance of the Bangladesh national team, Bulbul said, “The performance graph in cricket always goes up and down. This is not only true for Bangladesh but happens everywhere. I’ve only been at the board for two days. Let me observe things a bit more, then I’ll be able to speak in detail. But performance will surely bounce back… the graph will rise… if we can implement our plans.”
