Jalal Yunus steps down as BCB director

Jalal Yunus has resigned from his position as a BCB director and the chairman of the cricket operations committee.

Jalal's resignation comes after the National Sports Council, the control authorities of 41 different sports bodies of Bangladesh, asked him to step down.

Jalal, a former fast bowler who played professionally in the 1980s, has been a sports organiser since the late 1990s. He has been in the BCB continuously in important roles since 2009, and became the cricket operations head in December 2021.

"I have resigned for the greater interest of cricket," he told ESPNcricinfo. "I am all for cricket running properly and correctly. I am alright with their intention to replace me as per the constitution. I don't want to be a stumbling block for cricket's progress."

Meanwhile, Ahmed Sajjadul Alam, the other NSC nominated director in the BCB, turned down the board's request to step down on the same day.

"I told them that since they nominated me as the NSC councillor and then I became a director, they have to do it. They can inform me their decision regarding me," he told ESPNcricinfo.

Alam is also a veteran sports organiser, who is currently the BCB's tournament committee chairman.

The NSC's move follows the new sports adviser, Asif Mahmud, calling for reform in all sports federations in Bangladesh, including the BCB.

He has said that he wants to see a politics-free sporting arena. BCB, the custodian of Bangladesh's most popular sport, was built on political clout particularly in the last 15 years.

BCB chief Nazmul Hassan was the country's sports minister, while there was a member of parliament, a former MP, a former mayor and two cousins of the country's prime minister in the BCB's board of directors. Even two of Bangladesh's top cricketers were members of parliaments.

The NSC can now nominate another individual to replace the resigned Jalal as their director in the BCB. Reportedly, Faruque Ahmed, the 58-year-old former Bangladesh captain and two-time chief selector, is likely to be the NSC-nominated director.