After repeated talks that the caretaker government would disband the BCB executive committee any time in July, the rumours intensified last week that the board members would resign en masse following its meeting on last Saturday.

Mahbub Anam's stepping down came as no surprise. The long-time board general secretary told The Daily Star last night that he submitted his resignation personally to the president in the afternoon.

"The government wants to reform the board. I am also in favour of the reform. So I decided to pave the way for change," told Mahbub.

"The other members of the board are also quitting and they are expected to send their resignation letters individually," he added.

The final number of the resignations, however, could not be confirmed last night.

It was learned that Mahbub had a meeting with Sports Adviser Tapan Chowdhury before meeting the BCB chief to hand over his letter.

Afterwards, he had a long meeting with the other board members at Dhaka Club.

The executive committee was elected two years back but virtually, the same faces have been running the show since the BNP-led coalition government came to power in 2001 and replaced then president Saber Hossain Chowdhury with Ali Asghar Lobi, who dispersed the board of directors.

Immediately after the polls in 2005, the elected body was heavily criticised for politicisation and alleged manipulation in the election.

Meanwhile, the government will name an ad-hoc committee as soon as possible.

"The BCB president informed me that he has accepted Mahbub Anam's resignation," told National Sports Council secretary Aminul Islam Khan.

"We will try to avoid a vacuum and name a new committee within the next two days. It might be even tomorrow," said Aminul adding that the ad-hoc committee would not exceed 12 members.