Morshed to head BCB's anti-corruption unit

The BCB has appointed Abu Mohammad Humayun Morshed, a recently retired Army major, as the head of its anti-corruption unit. Morshed, who began work in Mirpur on Monday, is a permanent appointment in the new role.

The position was introduced after new ICC guidelines required boards to have a separate anti-corruption section, distinct from the security unit. Previously, the BCB's head of security used to look into anti-corruption issues.

Nizamuddin Chowdhury, the BCB CEO, said the board would appoint more staff depending on the need of the newly-formed department.

"He [Morshed] will take responsibility of the anti-corruption department similar to what other boards have," Chowdhury said. "It is part of ICC's guideline, not a directive. But the person who used to oversee security, he was also looking after anti-corruption. It was the anti-corruption and security unit, like it was in ICC. It has been divided into two now. They outsource the security, and the corruption is looked at by their own department. So we have followed them.

"This is like any other BCB department. We will increase the workforce, especially when they will have to cover domestic matches. But it doesn't mean they will police these matches all the time."

BCB's anti-corruption code became effective on January 15 last year, and was the basis of the BPL's tribunal into match and spot-fixing. The regulations are in place for domestic cricket as well. Chowdhury said that Morshed would have to coordinate such matters in the future, as well as work with the ICC during bilateral series and international events.

"ICC sends ACSU officials for all international events. Now he will coordinate with them, even when we do the BPL," Chowdhury said. "There were some complications with BPL. There was some office work for it, we have a tribunal. We have tried to shape it so that he can work accordingly."

Morshed will also have to look into matches during the Dhaka Premier League, the country's most important domestic tournament, in which there have been allegations of match-fixing and collusion for years. Chowdhury said that ahead of the 2014-15 season, all the Dhaka clubs will take part in an educational programme to be made aware of corruption.

"Our anti-corruption code is for all domestic cricket played in Bangladesh," he said. "Before the DPL, he will manage an educational programme. We did it in a simple way last season, but this time we will do it properly. We will teach them the ICC anti-corruption codes. How corruption creeps among the players and how they are approached. We want to raise awareness about these issues.

"The board will look into any matter pertaining to the anti-corruption department. If there is any complaint of conflict of interest, we have the disciplinary panel for it. They have been working independently, as you have seen with the BPL tribunal issues."