There will be no 'committee team' under me, says Tamim

Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) ad hoc committee president Tamim Iqbal said that there will be no 'committee team' during his tenure, elaborating that no team in the domestic circuit will be favoured. 

'Committee team' is a commonly used term in Bangladesh cricket where clubs are believed to gain undue advantages through umpires or board officials. 

Tamim said that he has spoken on irregularities in the past and will actively seek to correct the situation now despite being here for a short time until elections.

“There is no committee team now, is there? Committee teams are not an issue anymore. You have to keep in mind that since these discussions have been established [in the past], even opponents take advantage of it. Even when nothing happens, since it has been established, many say it. I hope that under me, something like ‘committee team’ will not happen. Everyone is equal and everyone should get equal opportunity,” Tamim said when talking about umpiring on Dhaka Premier League’s opening day at Bashundhara Sports City complex on Monday.

Tamim could not attend DPL’s opening ceremony due to illness but later showed before the media. He stated that he found irregularities in workers’ payments, especially how cleaners do not get their due payment.

“I heard from a cleaning lady that they are paid 300 taka daily. I went to BCB yesterday and learned that cleaners are being paid 650 taka, so I asked why they are being paid 300. I was shocked. BCB has its own cleaners but during a series, BCB appoints third-party through tender. What happens is that a company gets tender but BCB’s people then provides for the 30-40 cleaners. The company takes the payments from BCB and then according to their standards, pays the cleaners and keeps the profit,” Tamim said.

The former national captain relayed that in order to bring transparency, cleaning staff will have their own bank accounts and salaries will have to be disbursed directly to those accounts without any intermediaries. The bills will only be granted when proof of salary payment is submitted to BCB’s finance department.

Tamim said that as a player, he had talked about many issues in the past and it was his responsibility now to work and crack down on irregularities.

“I have not come here as BCB president just to enjoy myself. For the past 17 to 18 years, I have spoken against these irregularities from outside. If I do not correct them now, then my earlier words will have no value,” he said.