BCB recalls sacked director amid Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup 2026 exit

M Nazmul Islam to return to BCB [Source: AFP]

Bangladesh cricket seems to have found itself embroiled in a never-ending cycle of controversy and administrative turmoil. In the latest move, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has reinstated director M Nazmul Islam as the chairman of its finance committee.

It is worth noting that M Nazmul Islam was removed from his role by the BCB earlier this month, after Bangladesh cricketers staged a nationwide protest against the administrator. The protests were raised for the removal of Nazmul, following his controversial remarks against legendary opener Tamim Iqbal and other Bangladesh players.

M Nazmul Islam called back despite nationwide controversy

As reported by the Daily Star, the BCB has reinstated director M Nazmul Islam as the chairman of its finance committee. According to the report, the BCB disciplinary committee chairman Faiazur Rahman explained the reinstatement of Nazmul by saying, “We had given our observation to the board, and the board made the call.”

Last week, Nazmul had responded to BCB’s show-cause notice a day after its deadline. The BCB disciplinary committee found his reply to be satisfactory and positive.

It is worth noting that M Nazmul Islam was removed from his BCB position following a nationwide cricketing protest by Bangladesh players, one which even delayed a double-header of the BPL 2025-26 season by a day.

Earlier this month, Nazmul Islam had stoked a major controversy by calling former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal an “Indian agent” for merely urging diplomatic talks between the BCB, BCCI and the ICC over Bangladesh’s strict boycott stance on playing T20 World Cup 2026 matches in India.

The BCB director also made controversial remarks against Bangladesh players, claiming that the board will not be at loss if players refused to play the showpiece event.

Bangladesh kicked out by ICC from T20 World Cup 2026

The re-appointment of M Nazmul Islam as the chairman of the finance committee also occurred mere days after the Bangladesh team was excluded from the 2026 T20 World Cup by the ICC. Earlier, the BCB and the Bangladesh government expressed their refusal to send the Bangladesh team to India for the tournament citing “security concerns”.

The concerns themselves stemmed from Mustafizur Rahman’s removal from the KKR franchise for the upcoming IPL 2026 season at the instructions of the BCCI. The BCB responded back by banning the broadcast of IPL matches in the country, and by urging the ICC to relocate Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup 2026 matches from India to Sri Lanka.

Refusing to entertain Bangladesh’s sudden “security concerns” and finding no real threat to their players in an assessment, the ICC gave the BCB a deadline to reconsider their stance. However, the Bangladesh board remained adamant in their decision, which led to the team getting replaced by Scotland in Group C of the tournament.

BCB not to challenge ICC decision

BCB Media Committee Chairman Amzad Hussain has now confirmed that Bangladesh will not be challenging the ICC’s decision of replacing them with Scotland at the 2026 T20 World Cup. Hussain confirmed the same following BCB’s board meeting in Dhaka on Saturday, January 24.

The latest development only reinforces the perception of deepening instability within Bangladesh cricket, with governance issues continuing to overshadow the on-field narrative.