The Directors of Bangladesh Cricket Control Board (BCB) in a recent meeting gave the proposal for unique double tier selection processes given go ahead. 

Media reported that such a controversial uncalled for arrangement did not require any voting with two important board members Naimur Rahman Durjoy MP and Akram Khan absenting. 

The controversial system will have a three member selection panel with Farookh Ahmed as the chief; Minhazul Abedin retained his position while Habibul Bashar Sumon has been replaced by Sajjad Ahmed Sipon. Habibul Bashar has been made the single member selection committee for the Bangladesh Women’s team. 

The selection panel would prepare their preliminary selection and submit it to a selection committee where Akram Khan as BCB Director (Cricket Operation) will be the convener. In addition to three members of the selection panel head coach Chandrika Haturasinghe and present team manager Khaled Mahmud Sujon will be in the committee. Such a never before heard of selection process is unique and the design and purpose is not understood by the greater cricket community in Bangladesh.

The selection committee would submit an agreed and signed by all team to BCB President for approval. The way President informed this to media was like a School Headmaster instructing students of primary level about writing answer scripts for the exam. Although in process it is a two tier selection but it actually is a three tier or in our opinion a triple decker bus ride. In managing Dhaka City traffic Grid locks triple decker busses may bring some relief if carefully planned .But in Bangladesh cricket now there exists no such grid locks to break a well proven selection process and experimenting with a controversial unique process.

Board has also taken some more decisions like extending the tenure of head coach and coaching stuff till the ICC world cup 2019. A three member committee has also been formed for bowling action review. Board also announced 6 November, 2016 as the date for starting the next version of BPL T20 tournament. 

Such an unheard of selection process was being widely discussed in print and electronic media over the last few weeks. Most of the writers and discussants were recording their displeasure and annoyance over such unnecessary process. But BCB took no notice of good counsel and went ahead with their plan. Farukh Ahmed Chief Selector now on a visit abroad has re-announced his intention to resign upon his return home .He stated that the new arrangement would infringe on the neutral selection process. Nowhere in the cricket world board have directors directly interfered in the selection process. Nowhere team manager is part of the selection committee. His job is purely looking after logistics and administration matters. Manager is part of selection process in some cases. 

We are not sure which person or persons have engineered the plan and whose purpose would it be serving? Such a process in Bangladesh is definitely going to trigger fresh controversy inevitably. Head coach reportedly enjoyed short circuit access to senior policy makers all the way. He always said to have bypassed the previous Director (Cricket Operation) and always argued with chief selector. Normally selection committee proposes the squad and BCB approves it. It is the job of Manager and Captain of the team as team management to select the playing eleven for a particular match from the selected squad. Manager or coach usually passes on their opinion to selection committee before the selection of the squad. That is the process of team selection everywhere and until the recent past in Bangladesh. It worked well although there were few controversies or disagreements over some selection some time.

At a time when Bangladesh team has shown ability of ascending the graph upwards such a revolutionary change may create irreversible damage to the cricket interest of Bangladesh. We are sure that six members can never come to a consensus decision given that present manager of the team has conflict of interest in many ways. Apart from his past controversial role as manager of national team he is a Director of BCB, associated with Premier Division League playing club and BPL franchise. When the present BCB is heavily leaning to a particular club such a unique type of selection process may lose the scope of neutrality and fairness.

Why of all persons Habibul Bashar Sumon, a highly respected ex national captain from the national committee was required to be replaced and given a far less important job of selecting the women’s team? Is it not a disgrace for him? Now that Bashar will not be in the selection committee and Farukh is set to resign the selection panel would not have any test player. Bangladesh desperately needs persons in the selection committee with past test playing experience as Bangladesh will soon find it very challenging position for advancing into the first tier of the two tier test group of ICC full members. Inclusion of present head coach having short circuit with BCB senior executive and manager having conflicts of interest everywhere would definitely create crisis in the selection process. This may bring adverse impacts on the performance of the team.

We are all aware that the recent successes of Bangladesh were mostly in ODI and some successes in T20. These were also mostly in Bangladesh condition. Bangladesh is still languishing at the bottom of ICC Test playing ranking. They are not playing tests regularly and no plan seems to be in place for improving the longer version playing skills of Bangladesh cricketers. It seems that BCB is keener in BPL type of money spinning controversial cricket tournaments. They hardly bother for what is happening to longer version domestic cricket format. There are also allegations of wasting BCB money for merry making and unnecessary expenditures of few BCB officials.

We know that Prime Minister of Bangladesh and few ministers are very keen followers and admirers of Bangladesh Cricket. As member of the first generation cricket community of Bangladesh this is my humble appeal to Government policy makers to interfere into BCB mismanaging cricket affairs before irreversible damage is done to Bangladesh Cricket.

BDST: 1149 HRS, June 20, 2016
AKA