Amid widespread discussion and criticism over the Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) decision to accept umpire Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid Saikat's resignation a year after it was submitted, the board issued an explanation on Tuesday. The BCB said it did not renew Saikat's contract because of his appointment to the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires.
According to the BCB's press release, Sharfuddoula (Saikat) was under contract with the Board as a BCB Umpire. His contract expired in December 2025 and was subsequently extended until April 2026. Following the completion of the extended term, no further extension of the contract was pursued taking into account Sharfuddoula’s growing responsibilities as an ICC Elite Panel Umpire and the possibility that these could reduce the opportunities for him to contribute to the BCB in the same capacity. His previous contract with the Board therefore concluded in April 2026.
The BCB's press release further stated that, It may also be noted that placing ICC Elite Panel Umpires under central contracts is not standard practice among Full Member countries, largely because of the difficulty of balancing their international officiating commitments with the scheduling requirements of national boards. The BCB however, may engage Sharfuddoula for bilateral international series as well as domestic First Class, List A and T20 competitions, subject to his availability. At the conclusion of his contract in April 2026, Sharfuddoula was appointed by the BCB to officiate in the T20I series against Australia in June 2026 under a similar arrangement.
It is understood that Saikat tendered his resignation from the BCB's contracted umpire panel in April last year in protest after the punishment handed to Towhid Hridoy, the Mohammedan Sporting Club batter, for breaching the code of conduct was reduced. The then BCB administration, led by Faruque Ahmed, did not accept his resignation. However, the current BCB leadership, headed by Tamim Iqbal, has now formally accepted the resignation submitted a year ago.