Arafat Rahman
Arafat Rahman, nicknamed "Koko" (December 8, 1969 – January 24, 2015) was a Bangladeshi cricket organizer and former Chairman of the Development Committee of the Bangladesh Cricket Board. He was also the younger son of the former President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman and former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Khaleda Zia.
Arafat Rahman | |
|---|---|
| আরাফাত রহমান | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 December 1969 Noakhali, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) |
| Died | 24 January 2015 (aged 45) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| Resting place | Banani graveyard, Dhaka |
| Spouse | Sharmila Rahman |
| Relations | Tarique Rahman (brother) Taiyaba Majumder (maternal grandmother) Sayeed Iskander (maternal uncle) Khurshid Jahan (maternal aunt) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | See Majumder–Zia family |
| Nickname | Koko |
Arafat Rahman is widely remembered for his contribution 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 as the grooming ground for young cricketers and ensured a pipeline of talent for the national cricket team over the following decade.
Arafat died in Malaysia on January 24, 2015, due to cardiac arrest. He was exiled by the caretaker regime of 2007-08 after his conviction in a money laundering case which his lawyers claimed was fabricated. The funds in question were claimed by his lawyers to have been transferred by a Singaporean businessman with no obvious ties to Rahman while he was in jail in November 2007.