Bangladesh cricket - All the best Mustafa Kamal but don't become a joke!

So, the dream of Mustafa Kamal, the president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, has come true. Finally, he has become the vice-president of the International Cricket Council. The ICC's executive board accepted his nomination, made jointly by the Bangladesh and Pakistan Cricket Board at the start of its meeting in Colombo on October 9, 2012. Kamal will now take over as the vice-president from 2012 to 2014 and then succeed Alan Isaac as president for 2014-15 over a 12-month period. This means that Kamal will have to immediately stand down as president of his home board, with the BCB's elections due sometime in late November, 2012.

The first ceremonial president

Mustafa Kamal’s dream was delayed by three months as it was debated whether the vice president post was relevant in the light of the restructuring. During the annual conference in June, the ICC injected some administrative changes which made the way for the creation of a ‘Chairman’ post, who will have the greater executive powers and head the board. According to Cricinfo, “The post of president will subsequently become a largely ceremonial one, with a one-year term, and the post of vice-president will be abolished. The ICC will appoint its first chairman at the end of Isaac's term in 2014, meaning Kamal would be its first ceremonial president.”

Expectations as a Bangladeshi cricket fan

 Now, what do I accept from Kamal? 

During his stay at the ICC’s big posts, Kamal must bring a new energy in Bangladesh’s Test fortune. To reach the top Test cricket is a must. Sadly, Bangladesh participates in lesser amount of Test cricket as most of the nation are reluctant to play against us and in such circumstances, Kamal must encourage the other Test playing nations to play against us - if not the bigger Test playing nations then the lower ranked Test playing nations must be offered to contest in a Test series against Bangladesh. After his return from Sri Lanka today, Kamal sounded confident regarding Bangladesh’s Test cricket, but I demand actions rather than words – a perfect implementation of words. 

Is he the right person for the job?

By the way, it’s a matter of pride for the Bangladeshis that someone from our country is featured in the ICC’s most coveted post. Kamal will have almost two years to perform his duties in the ICC’s executive sector and within these two years Kamal must work by thinking about the honour and respect of Bangladesh. As the president of our cricket board, Kamal’s actions have never been encouraging. He bears the reputation of being autocratic and bizarre. His ego clash with the selectors, madness with Shakib and Tamim, the unnecessary drama with the Pakistan tour etc. have never pictured him as a fine operator. So, his abilities to perform a challenging job at the ICC remains in doubt. 

Let’s be optimistic

But I wish to see the silver lining behind the dark clouds. Greater responsibilities always brings out the best in a person. Kamal’s job as a vice-president and later as a ceremonial president is indeed a big task and demands greater efforts of the highest quality. None of his bizarre and autocratic moves of the BCB will work but in turn they will tarnish the image of the country. Bangladesh as a cricketing nation is still struggling to earn respect globally. So in such circumstances, Kamal must be sensible enough with his every approach so that the image of Bangladesh remains supreme. 

Thank You

Faisal Caesar