Businessman Ishfaq Ahsan was initially appointed as one of the two directors nominated by the National Sports Council (NSC) to the Board of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). However, following the BCB elections yesterday, the NSC made a late-night decision to withdraw his nomination due to his affiliations with the ruling Awami League.
According to reliable sources, Rubaba Dowla, a prominent corporate figure and women’s sports organiser, has now been nominated by the NSC to replace Ahsan as a director on the BCB board.
Rubaba Dowla currently serves as the Country Director for Oracle in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan. She previously held senior positions at leading telecom companies Grameenphone and Airtel.
Dowla has long-standing ties to the sports world. From 2009 to 2015, she served as the President of the Bangladesh Badminton Federation and was also a board member of Special Olympics Bangladesh. During her tenure at Grameenphone from 1998 to 2009, she worked as the Chief Communications Officer and Chief Marketing Officer. During this period, she became a familiar figure in Bangladesh’s cricketing circles, representing Grameenphone as a major sponsor of the national team from 2003 to 2011.
She also played a key role in establishing the National Cricket Academy in Mirpur in 2007, a joint initiative between Grameenphone and the BCB.
