Blockchain Money, Cricket Dreams: Is BCB on the Path to Digital Revolution?

Starting from a Facebook Live in Sylhet. Last month. A young club cricketer came live and said he hadn't received his money for three months. The club officials said there was an account problem. The bank said there was a transfer delay. But that young man had a smartphone, had internet, and knew what blockchain was. So he asked, why are there so many problems in a digital system when the same technology is delivering money to players in seconds across the world? This question pulled me towards understanding the connection between blockchain and Bangladesh cricket. And believe me, what I found is concerning news for cricket lovers. The Bangladesh Cricket Board processes over 400 crore taka in transactions annually. This includes player salaries, coach salaries, staff salaries, stadium maintenance, travel expenses, and various project costs. But this huge sum of transactions still depends on the old banking system. Where transfers take three to seven working days. Where intermediary institutions cut two to three percent from every transaction. And where the responsibility to prove transparency falls on government audits. Blockchain technology proposes a fundamental change here. It's not a new app, not a new payment gateway. It's a distributed ledger where every transaction is recorded permanently and immutably. There's no central authority. No single party can modify data. And every partner in the network can see and verify the same information at the same time. Consider a scenario. Tigers test match is ongoing at Mirpur. A groundsman from the National Cricket League has worked all day. After the match, digital tokens are deposited directly into his account. No manual processing. No delay. And at the same time, BCB, ICC, and tax authorities automatically see the transaction from their nodes. This is blockchain's promise. But the question is, is BCB walking this path? Sources say discussions about BCB's digital strategy have been ongoing for the past two years. A preliminary feasibility study was completed at the end of 2026. But there's been no progress since. There's apparently a disagreement in the board of directors about this matter. One faction thinks blockchain isn't mature enough for Bangladesh's context yet. The other says this is the right time because falling behind will miss ICC's new governance standards. In this disagreement, I see a deeper problem. Decisions in Bangladesh cricket administration are not just technological, they're political. And blockchain has the power to expose that politics. If I were a player, I would want to know why my remuneration was set at this amount. Why did another player get a different amount. Was there any transparent criterion behind each decision, or did personal relationships and influence work? Blockchain can ensure this transparency through smart contracts. When a contract is coded into a smart contract, terms are visible to everyone and immutable. No hidden additions or modifications are possible. Here I face a harsh truth. The lack of transparency in Bangladesh cricket administration is not just procedural, it's a cultural problem. In the two decades I've seen, one thing is clear. With every board change, administrative culture doesn't change. Only the rhetoric changes. When a president talks about transparency, many in his panel are beneficiaries of the previous administration. So even if they talk about transparency, it's not implemented in reality. And if a technology like blockchain comes, it will strike at the root of this culture. That's unacceptable to many. However, the reality is Bangladesh is no longer alone. Blockchain's entry into international cricket has begun. ICC launched a pilot project in 2026 with three associate boards. Although which boards are participating hasn't been officially announced, industry sources say one of them is a South Asian board. It could be Bangladesh, or it could be Nepal or Sri Lanka. But it's clear ICC wants its member countries to move gradually in this direction. What is Bangladesh's position in this context? From what I have, BCB has formed an initial task force. This task force includes board IT department officials, two external experts, and a fintech company representative. But this task force's pace of work is extremely slow. In the last six months, only two meetings have been held. And no specific roadmap has been created. What's behind this slowness? In my opinion, there are three main obstacles. First, technological infrastructure limitations. Bangladesh's banking sector hasn't fully digitized yet. Many players, especially domestic cricketers, still depend on cash transactions. Second, lack of reporting capacity. To implement blockchain technology, trained manpower is needed. BCB lacks such manpower. Third, and most importantly, lack of political will. Because blockchain means transparency. And transparency means redistribution of power. But here I want to present an alternative viewpoint. Perhaps BCB is doing the right thing by moving slowly. Because blockchain doesn't just bring transparency, it also brings complications. When every transaction is public and immutable, there's no room for hidden corrections of wrong decisions. This may not be comfortable for an administrative system. Additionally, blockchain still doesn't fall under existing legal framework in Bangladesh. Clear legal guidelines regarding ownership of digital assets, mandatory enforcement of smart contracts, and blockchain dispute resolution haven't been created yet. So if BCB launches a full blockchain system now, it could face legal complications. However, after hearing these arguments, I still believe BCB must take some steps now. Because the world is moving fast. BCCI has already started using blockchain technology in their ticketing and merchandising. Pakistan Cricket Board is testing a blockchain-based fan token. And Sri Lanka Cricket is working with ICC to create an anti-corruption platform using blockchain technology. Will Bangladesh fall behind in this competition? Or will it move forward? In my opinion, BCB should start with small steps. First, player remuneration disbursement could be made blockchain-based. This would be the easiest and most impactful step. Because players are the most important assets of the cricket board. And treating them fairly is most needed. An incident from last year comes to mind. A national team player had expressed frustration about his remuneration. He said he wasn't getting the money. BCB had quickly resolved it. But the question is, why do such problems occur in the first place? If there was a transparent and automatic system, such problems wouldn't occur at all. And blockchain can provide this solution. That young club cricketer's question from Sylhet still haunts me. He wanted to know why it's so difficult for an ordinary person like him to get the benefits of technology. Until I can answer this question, the digital future of Bangladesh cricket will remain in darkness. If BCB doesn't announce any blockchain initiative in the next six months, I will believe they are at risk of falling behind this revolutionary technology. And the cost of this backwardness won't just be financial, it will be people's trust. Because today's young generation wants technologically transparent systems. And if they know they won't get it, they'll go elsewhere. As many already have.