For a man brought in to clean up Bangladesh cricket, Nazmul Abedeen Fahim ended up embodying everything that was wrong with it.

His appointment as a director of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), alongside Faruque Ahmed, following the dissolution of the Nazmul Hassan-led board after the July 2024 student movement that toppled the Awami League government, was supposed to signal reform. Instead, it exposed a familiar pattern of excess, poor priorities and questionable judgement.

What followed was a stark disconnect between promise and performance.

Instead of ushering in change, Fahim quickly became Bangladesh cricket’s own Ibne Batuta – not for any spirit of discovery, but for the sheer volume of miles he clocked on the BCB’s dime.

During the first 12 months of his 18-month tenure, his relentless overseas travel became a running joke in the home of cricket. Inside the BCB corridors, the whispers hardened into ridicule: he was the “TA-DA director”, named after the travel allowance and daily allowance he collected with remarkable consistency.

The label stuck because the pattern did not change.

Even as Bangladesh cricket lurched from one issue to another, Fahim was frequently found accompanying teams abroad. Critics questioned not just the frequency of his trips, but their necessity – particularly during moments when his presence was required at home.

The most glaring instance came during the turmoil surrounding the Bangladesh Premier League 2024–25 season. As governing council chairman, Fahim was expected to steer the tournament through a difficult period. Instead, he travelled with the Women’s Under-19 team – a decision that drew sharp criticism and left the impression of a director detached from his core responsibilities.

The numbers only deepen the discomfort.

Over the course of his tenure, Fahim travelled to six countries, spending 56 days abroad and incurring Tk40,61,750 in TA-DA expenses. For many, it became increasingly difficult to justify either the scale or the timing of those trips.

Even Faruque, the former BCB president who had brought him into the boardroom, publicly admitted uncertainty over why Fahim needed to be part of so many touring delegations – a rare and telling admission that underlined the growing unease within the administration itself.

By the time the National Sports Council (NSC) stepped in to dissolve the board last week, citing corruption in the previous election that had already tainted its legitimacy, Fahim’s position had become untenable.

Reports suggest that the mounting criticism eventually forced him to scale back his travel during the final six months of his tenure – a move that came far too late to repair the damage.

When contacted by Daily Sun for comment on the foreign trips that placed both him and the BCB under significant embarrassment, Fahim did not respond.