Tamim Iqbal has had a sudden rise in Bangladesh cricket administration in the last little while. From being branded an “Indian agent” in the aftermath of Mustafizur Rahman being ousted from the IPL, the former national captain now finds himself as the interim president of the board at a time when the country is trying to restore its ties with the most powerful nation in the cricket world.
Bangladesh pulled out of the T20 World Cup when the ICC refused to accept its request of moving its games out of India. Now with a change in government in Dhaka, Iqbal tells Sriram Veera how he plans to get the country’s cricket back on track, both on and off the field.
Q: What have you done to repair BCB’s relationship with BCCI — which had nearly broken down?
Tamim Iqbal: I was probably the first to speak out when the (T20) World Cup issue happened. What was done, how it was handled by the previous Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) administration, was not right. The ICC was lenient, there was room to find a solution. We should have found it.
Let me go back to 1996-97 — how much we fought to win that ICC trophy against Kenya just to qualify for the World Cup. My house was floating in coloured water. People celebrated in the streets. That celebration brought kids into cricket — everybody wanted to be Minhajul Abedin Nannu, Khaled Mashud, Akram Khan. And we gave away a World Cup without even having a proper dialogue. There might be players in that squad who will never play in a World Cup again. That I did not take nicely.
Regarding BCCI — I have played a lot of cricket with (current BCCI president) Mithun Manhas. In the IPL, we were in the same team, he has come to Bangladesh many times to play in Dhaka leagues. Very good rapport. I haven’t had the chance to sit with him in this capacity yet, but I know him well. The country’s security is absolutely brilliant at the moment. There is no issue, no security threat — and it has never been for the Indian cricket team. When India comes here, the whole stadium is packed. People love that contest. I personally don’t think BCB and BCCI have any real issues anymore. A series here would be a great way to take the next step forward.
Q: Pakistan made noises about solidarity during the dispute — they threatened to boycott (the T20 World Cup) too. Was that genuine or politics?
Tamim Iqbal: That is difficult for me to comment on. I was not part of that core group. What I will say is: whatever happened, we lost the opportunity to play a World Cup. Some of our players may never get another chance. That, for me, is the biggest thing.
On (ICC chairman) Jay Shah — I haven’t had the chance to meet him yet in this role, but I know a lot of Indian cricketers and I have only heard good things about him. I have always seen ICC as a family — when I was a player and now. There are 12-15 countries all together. We need to look after each other. I genuinely don’t think the teams we’re talking about wish us bad. Cricket should remain about cricket.
Q: You’ve said — ‘I don’t need to know everything, whoever sits in this position thinks they know everything.’ Was that the philosophy you came in with?
Tamim Iqbal: My background is cricket, and I will always understand that side better than most. But there are people on this committee stronger in finance, in tenders, in procurement. You need to use those people. To run a cricket board, you need a mix — it isn’t only about cricket. It’s about finances, sponsorships, marketing, branding. And for everything else, you have a CEO. I’ve played the game long enough to understand what cricket needs in Bangladesh — it needs a lot of changes, a lot of development, a lot of mindset changes. I’m only focusing on that.
Q: The BCB has 1,300 crore sitting in the bank. You’ve said that money shouldn’t be sitting idle.
Tamim Iqbal: Absolutely. I want my players to compete with India, Pakistan, Australia. And in return — what have I given to my players? If I’m not giving them the best facilities available, which we are clearly capable of getting, is it fair to ask them what we are asking? I don’t think so. The ICC is not funding us so we can park money in fixed deposits. Sponsors are not giving us money for that. It needs to go into development, infrastructure; real investment in the game. At least you create the pipeline and the infrastructure. Then it’s up to the players.
Q: Before you came in, you said you’d push for a law where anyone caught in sports betting should be jailed for 10 years. Now you’re inside the system — do you still think it’s possible?
Tamim Iqbal: I think it’s possible. The Parliament Speaker came to watch the Test match — I raised it with him. I’ve spoken to the Sports Minister, the Home Minister. What I want is a law on sports corruption — not just betting. Right now, corrupt people know that even if they get caught, the worst that happens is a ban. They need to understand: if they get caught, they are going to jail. The issue of corruption will not vanish completely, but it will come down massively. When we grew up as kids, the only thing we knew was how to play the game, win, lose, score runs, take wickets. Now there are kids getting into this — all over the world, not only Bangladesh. They need to understand – the same way they’ve been taught that if you steal something you might get arrested – that if you get into betting, you might get jailed.
Q: Why was an ad hoc committee needed at all? Many outside Bangladesh don’t fully understand what happened.
Tamim Iqbal: The previous elections were deeply compromised — seven directors resigned. Bangladesh cricket depends heavily on the Dhaka leagues — 76 teams across four divisions. Of those, around 50 refused to participate. In the First Division, 8 of 20 teams didn’t play. Second Division, 12 of 24 stayed out. Premier League, 9 of 12 opposed it. Third Division, 15 teams raised objections. Cricketers were not getting paid. Players who’d built their lives around the game were back on the streets — rickshaw pullers, pani puri sellers. The National Sports Council stepped in, set up an investigation, directors testified. There are directors from the previous board alleged to be involved in nefarious activities. The situation had become very nasty.
My mindset was simple: let’s do it. It will either be a success or a failure. I’m ready to have that failure — because at least I’m trying it for the better. I was given 90 days to hold elections. I will complete them in 60. And we’ll make absolutely sure that what happened during the World Cup does not happen again.
