A very disturbing report in the leading dailies of Bangladesh today regarding Bangladesh Cricket Control Board (BCB) plan to have two tiers Selection Committee for selecting national teams. 

According to the plan which is now awaiting BCB board approval, a three member selection committee headed by the chief selector will prepare a selection panel of players and place it to the higher committee to be headed by a board director and comprising of the three selectors, head coach and manager of the team for finalizing and placing to BCB president for final approval.  

It is a never heard before process of selecting any national team in any game anywhere of the world not to speak of cricket team in any ICC member country.  One cannot make out what makes BCB even thinking about changing the present method of selection when national teams both men and women and age group teams are performing admirably well in international matches?

National selectors in all other countries select the team and team management where coach, captain and manager are parts select the playing squad depending on opposition, wicket and playing condition. Manager usually does not have much say in the process. Manager is mainly responsible for the administrative matters. The present Manager concurrently is Manager cum coach of a BPL Franchise, official of a team. He has been regularly involved in controversies but conspicuously remained unscathed. Giving him a new feather as a selector will make him “One in many.” Whether it will benefit Bangladesh cricket or create more controversy is difficult to ascertain.

Selection committee may sometime consider the suggestions of captain and coach for a particular or few players. But as part of team management they have to deal with the squad given to them. 

Bangladesh selection committee comprises of three national captains of the past each of whom has glorious playing records in their time. They have high respects among players and acceptability in cricket community. There were one or two disagreements of their selection but in general the selected teams were the best available at particular periods. But over the last year or so it was being rumored that the selectors were often dictated by senior BCB policy maker in the selection process. There were also reports that head coach who was supposed to work as per directive of Director Cricket Operation of BCB bypassed and created short circuit with senior policy makers. The present development according to many may have been prescribed from the same source.

Few other high profile coaches like Eddie Barlow, Gordon Greenidge never had such issues with team selection. No manager of the team ever had any role in the team selection. Why BCB is trying to invent something which may complicate the process of team selection. Present BCB possibly do not possess intellectual competence to carry out research and development in cricket.

Bangladesh cricket has reached a stage of maturity due to sacrifice and contribution of many players, organizers and club officials. Many of them had far more credible track records than most of the present BCB members. There is no right of anyone now to trigger adverse impacts through unimaginative experiments.

As cricket enthusiast from first generation of cricket community of Bangladesh I strongly suggest forgetting about the idea of two tier selection committee and widening the committee. Present committee is doing nothing wrong. Head Coach and Manager must also be made accountable to Director Cricket Operation. Senior Policy makers must not also interfere in every affair of cricket operation.

BDST: 1003 HRS, June 9, 2016
AKA