The Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh (COAB), which looks after players’ interests and works on their behalf, held its election today (Thursday) in Mirpur. National star Tamim Iqbal came to cast his vote and faced the media, where he was asked why he did not run in the election. Tamim gave a rather tactical reply.
There was heightened interest around Tamim’s presence. Especially since he has already announced that he will contest in next month’s BCB elections, his appearance here sparked even more discussion. Earlier, there had also been speculation that Tamim might contest for the post of COAB president.
But in the end, Tamim did not stand in the COAB election. When journalists asked for the reason, he simply said, “You all know why I didn’t come forward. I hope you can understand.” His words clearly hinted at the upcoming BCB election. If he were to become a BCB director or president, being in the COAB committee could create a conflict of interest — that’s why he stepped aside.
In this COAB election, only the president’s post was contested. Former cricketer and match referee Selim Shahed and current cricketer Mohammad Mithun were in the race. For the other 10 positions, candidates were elected unopposed.
Last year, after political changes, president Naimur Rahman and general secretary Debabrata Pal resigned. In their place, an ad-hoc committee led by Selim Shahed took charge, under whose supervision this election is being held.
Tamim, however, is optimistic about COAB’s future. According to him, “Some mistakes are still there. But the new committee will have two years in hand. During this time, everything needs to be built systematically. Our main wish was that the election should be held and a committee be formed. From what I’ve seen so far, I feel good about it.”
