1. Arafat Rahman, nicknamed "Koko" was a Bangladeshi cricket organizer and former chairman of the Development Committee of the Bangladesh Cricket Board.
22 Facts About Arafat Rahman
1. 2.
Arafat Rahman was the younger son of former president of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman and former prime minister of Bangladesh Khaleda Zia.
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Arafat Rahman is widely remembered for his contributions to cricket in Bangladesh as the chairman of the Development Committee of the Bangladesh Cricket Board from 2002 to 2005.
4.
Arafat Rahman played a significant role in designing a development programme for the Bangladesh Cricket Board, initiating the High-Performance Squad that worked to train young cricketers and sought to ensure a pipeline of talent for the national cricket team over the following decade.
5.
On 24 January 2015, Arafat Rahman died due to cardiac arrest while at the University of Malaya Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
6.
Arafat Rahman was born on 12 August 1969 in East Pakistan.
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Arafat Rahman belonged to a notable Bengali Muslim political family of Mandals hailing from Bagbari in Gabtali, Bogra District.
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Arafat Rahman then pursued higher education in civil aviation from Australia.
9.
Arafat Rahman was married to Sharmila Arafat Rahman Sithi, and had two children with her: Zahia and Zaifa.
10.
Arafat Rahman was one of the pioneers of developing a High-Performance unit at BCB to develop emerging cricketers in an academy setting.
11.
Arafat Rahman brought in Richard McInnes to lead the initiative.
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Arafat Rahman is particularly credited for renovating Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, which was originally built as a football and athletics stadium, and converting the stadium into the home of Bangladesh cricket.
13.
Arafat Rahman invited prominent Bangladeshi businessmen such as Khondokar Jamil Uddin, Aziz Al Kaiser, Reaz Uddin Al-Mamoon, and others to invest in cricket clubs.
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Arafat Rahman said, 'Jamil vai, being a businessman you have a responsibility to contribute to the nation.
15.
Arafat Rahman was the chairman of Old DOHS Sports Club and helped in the development of a new sports club, City Club.
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Arafat Rahman was later released and was dropped at home after his mother was said to have agreed to leave the country with her sons.
17.
In November 2007, Arafat Rahman was jailed on charges of money laundering.
18.
Arafat Rahman's lawyers claimed these transactions were fabricated, and that the funds in question were to have been transferred by a Singaporean businessman with no obvious ties to Rahman.
19.
On 17 July 2008, after receiving permission from the Bangladesh Supreme Court, Arafat Rahman went to Thailand and later to Malaysia for medical treatment.
20.
Arafat Rahman was still to be jailed for six years, and a Dhaka court issued a warrant for his arrest in November 2010.
21.
Arafat Rahman died of cardiac arrest on 24 January 2015, at the University of Malaya Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
22.
Arafat Rahman was buried at Banani Graveyard in Bangladesh on 27 January 2015, after a grand funeral which was attended by thousands of mourners in Dhaka.