Arafat Rahman Koko. Photo : Collected

DHAKA, Aug 12, 2025 (BSS) - Dhaka University (DU) Professor Dr Morshed Hasan Khan today said Arafat Rahman Koko, the late youngest son of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, was a selfless and immortal sports enthusiast.

“Arafat Rahman Koko had a varied life. When he died on 24 January 2015, millions of people wept bitterly at the final farewell of a publicity-averse and simple-minded Koko. Like his father, Koko's Namaz-e-Janaza was also a surprise in the history of Bangladesh. Ignoring all fears and obstacles of fascist government, ordinary people said goodbye to this immortal sportsman with tears in their eyes,” wrote Morshed Hasan in his Facebook.

Arafat Rahman was a Bangladeshi cricket organizer and former chairman of the Development Committee of the Bangladesh Cricket Board. His elder brother is Tarique Rahman, the current acting chairperson of BNP.

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. He 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.

During his studies in Australia, he built a network with local Australian cricket coaching staff in the early 1990s.

He 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. 

From 2004 to 2006, about three feet of soil was excavated to remove all the red clay. Water pipes were fit in to develop a drainage facility, and afterwards the ground was filled up with rock chips, sand, and grass. The gallery was replaced by new chairs and shades as well.

In his short stint with BCB, Arafat Rahman contributed to the development of six international cricket venues across the country, in Dhaka, Chattagram, Narayanganj, Sylhet, Khulna and Bogura, all of whom received international status from 2006 to 2007.

Arafat Rahman also invited prominent Bangladeshi businessmen such as Khondokar Jamil Uddin, Aziz Al Kaiser, Reaz Uddin Al-Mamoon, and others to invest in cricket clubs. This was to pump in corporate financial support for the emerging cricketers.

On 24 January 2015, Rahman died due to cardiac arrest while at the University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.