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Evidence of ballot manipulation, partiality, and pressure emerged in the October 2025 Bangladesh Cricket Board polls, according to a state-appointed inquiry. Though tasked promptly, senior figures within the BCB repeatedly withheld support during reviews. One such figure, past president Aminul Islam, skipped personal discussions altogether – his insights came only through paper. The group behind these conclusions consists of five individuals, overseen by ex-judge AKM Asaduzzaman. Their report reached the sports authorities on Sunday, sources including ESPNcricinfo confirmed. Behind closed doors, reluctance shaped much of the process. Written words replaced dialogue when engagement mattered most

Even so, signs pointed to misconduct involving BCB figures alongside certain ministry staff when votes were being counted. Later checks showed actions bent the rules, not just on one side but across both groups shaping the outcome.

On Tuesday afternoon, during a press event, Mohammed Aminul Ahesan – NSC’s sports director – shared findings from an official document. Free? Fair? Transparent? Not even close, according to what he said. People casting votes felt pressured. Mistakes and rule-breaking happened often throughout the steps of voting

Ahesan spoke about reasons behind the decision to disband the old BCB leadership under Aminul. After wrapping up what he had to say, an interim group of eleven people was named – tasked with running cricket affairs for ninety days. Taking charge now is Tamim Iqbal, once skipper for Bangladesh, who raised concerns over misuse of power by Aminul not long before voting happened twelve months ago.

“On March 10, 2026, Mr Shariful Alam and other former councillors made a complaint about the district and division sports associations. The subject of the complaint was the deadline for submitting councillors’ names from this category. The concerned authorities were sent letters on September 1 and 2 that the submission deadline would be September 17. The BCB extended this deadline to September 19 and then to September 22. The committee felt that this deadline was extended without proper reason and for ulterior motives, to replace the previously nominated councillors with preferred individuals and create opportunities for them to be elected as directors,” Ahesan said

Ahead of the 2025 BCB polls, Aminul and Nazmul Abedeen Fahim pushed their way into council roles through pressure tactics – so said the panel. Their appointments to temporary panels in Dhaka followed similar patterns. According to Ahesan, such moves crossed clear lines of authority.

“Based on the statements of the other directors interviewed, the committee has inferred that Mr Aminul Islam Bulbul was not duly authorised to nominate 10 councillors from among the former cricketers,” the statement stated

“Also, as per Article 9.3.3 of the BCB Constitution, the President does not have the power to unilaterally nominate 10 former cricketers as councillors. Therefore, Mr Aminul Islam Bulbul, as the BCB President, acted beyond his authority by unilaterally nominating 10 former cricketers as councillors. This is a clear abuse of power and a violation of the BCB constitution. The committee found that Mr Aminul Islam Bulbul’s unilateral nomination of 10 former cricketers had a significant impact on the election process, as he received benefits from those councillors and potentially influenced the election outcome,” the report further added.

From the report, it turned out Aminul and NSC staff had steered the e-voting outcome their way. People who voted said things that matched up with how the setup felt rehearsed, almost like a script already written

” The committee found that e-voting was conducted from a specific location and the confidentiality of the vote was not maintained, which is against basic democratic principles and the BCB constitution,” the report stated. “Again, most of these voters were present at the polling station on the day of physical voting of e-voters. Although there was an opportunity to vote directly, e-voting was conducted by gathering in one place at the Sheraton Hotel in the capital on the night of the 5th (October 5), and the process seemed to the committee to be vote rigging.”