Sports desk, Mar 03: The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has decided to hand over the responsibilities of Bogra’s Shaheed Chandu Stadium to the National Sports Council. 
A letter, signed by BCB Chief Executive Officer Nizam Uddin Chowdhury, was sent to the secretary of the council on Thursday.
The letter mentioned that Shaheed Chandu Stadium has been maintained by the BCB for a long time. A significant number of domestic and international cricket leagues or tournaments have been organized there. However, due to the non-cooperation of the Bogra District Sports Association for the past few years, the BCB has failed to organize tournaments or leagues regularly.
In view of this, the BCB said it has taken the decision to transfer all responsibilities of the maintenance of the stadium to the NSC.
All BCB officials working at the stadium have already been transferred to another venue, according to BCB Venue Manager Jamilur Rahman Jamil.
“A total of 17 officials and employees, including the venue manager appointed by the BCB, have been transferred already,” said Jamil, adding they have been asked to report to Dhaka’s Mirpur Stadium by Saturday along with their belongings.
Regarding the allegation of non-cooperation, Bogra District Sports Association General Secretary Masudur Rahman Milan said the accusation is baseless.
“We have been demanding that matches be held at the stadium for a long time, but the BCB has been indifferent to our calls,” he said.
Bogra Deputy Commissioner Saiful Islam said he cannot avoid responsibility as he is president of the Bogra Sports Association as ex-officio.
“It was not possible for me to know everything in my short tenure. However, the BCB has never said that it is not getting any support from the association,” he said.
Meanwhile, this news has caused disappointment among players and cricket lovers in the district. They also urged the BCB to reassess the decision to hand over the responsibilities of the stadium to the NSC.
The venue held three group-stage matches of the Under-19 Cricket World Cup in 2004, giving it its first exposure to a global audience.
It was finally granted full international status in January 2006, ahead of Sri Lanka’s visit to the country.
After receiving ICC recognition, only one test and five ODIs were organized there. The stadium has only hosted domestic cricket matches ever since.
