Building something that outlasts any single board term is the first order of business for Tamim Iqbal, who was confirmed as Bangladesh Cricket Board president only a few weeks ago. Top of that list is a purpose-built High Performance Centre on the eastern edge of Dhaka – a project he actually started sketching in his notebook when the government asked him to lead an ad-hoc committee back in April.
“The High Performance Center is probably my biggest dream,” Tamim said earlier this week. “I hope that I can fulfil this dream. We will need big support from the government. Initially the BCB can fund this center. We have asked the company that designed the existing centre for a re-design. We hope that we can start the centre in Purbachal. As you can imagine, such a large-scale project requires a lot of money. We will definitely seek the government’s support in that regard. I have met the country’s finance minister about it, he was very positive about the project so now we have to apply to the government.”
At the moment Bangladesh’s academy resources are squeezed into a tight corner of the Shere Bangla National Stadium. Two nets, a small gym and an indoor surface just about do the job, but most players and coaches agree the place has grown tired. A stand-alone campus in Purbachal – close to new highways and away from city congestion – would let the national pathway programmes breathe, give developing quick bowlers longer run-ups and, crucially, free up the main stadium.
Money, as always, will be the tricky part. Tamim’s plan is to start with BCB funds, then bolt on government grants and private partnerships once blueprints are finalised. There is tentative support at cabinet level, though nothing signed.
While the bricks-and-mortar talk dominated the press conference, the new president also addressed the goodwill gap that has opened up around the national side. Bangladesh skipped the most recent T20 World Cup and spent part of the season fielding questions about player walk-outs and media boycotts.
“The players need to be respected as much as possible – not just current cricketers, but former cricketers too,” he said. “Every stakeholder in Bangladesh cricket will be respected. It was maybe lacking in the BCB in the last one and a half years. We have to come together and fix this damaged reputation of Bangladesh cricket.”
Transparency, another word that keeps cropping up, remains front and centre. “I want to ensure maximum transparency. I am sure that all of us at the board are not going to do anything controversial. We want to work with full honesty. I am sure we will make mistakes, but I look forward to seeing how quickly we rectify those mistakes.”
Asked how it feels to swap pads for paper-work, Tamim smiled, almost sheepishly: “There is no extra feeling that I have become something really big. It is a massive responsibility. I have spoken about so many things about the cricket board for the last few years, so now I feel that this is the time when I have to prove myself to everyone.”
For now, the proof will be measured in concrete, steel and a decent outfield for the next generation.
