Bashar eyes continuity as new selection panel takes charge

Bangla Press Desk: Newly appointed Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief selector Habibul Bashar said on Tuesday that he intends to carry forward the work done by the previous selection committee led by Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu, who served in the role for the past two years.

On Monday, the BCB announced that Bashar will head the new selection panel, which includes two newly appointed members, Naeem Islam and Nadif Chowdhury. The trio will join Hasibul Hossain Shanto, who was part of Lipu’s previous committee.“Definitely excited,” Bashar told reporters following an introductory meeting with the newly formed selection panel and former chief selector Lipu. Bashar also held discussions with national team head coach Phil Simmons.

“This year, Bangladesh have a lot of matches and plenty of challenges. It’s a World Cup year, plus there are many bilateral series—big series against major teams. So performing well is very important. Maintaining consistency is very important. And obviously, the selectors’ job is a very responsible position. I’m optimistic—let’s see. Hopefully, we’ll do good work,” he said.

When asked about the composition of the panel, Bashar expressed confidence that the members would complement each other effectively.

“If you look at it, there’s a good mix of experience and youth. Some are new, while Hasibul Hasan Shanto was already working before. Among the new ones, Naeem Islam brings a lot of experience—he has played for the national team and spent a long time in first-class cricket. From my previous experience of building national teams, what I can say is this: players in the national team are very visible—we all know what they are doing and they are regularly followed. But it’s equally important to closely monitor those outside the national team, especially in domestic cricket,” he said.

“I think Naeem, having played domestic cricket for so long, can provide very valuable input in this area. Nadif Chowdhury has worked at the junior level and played first-class cricket as well. So they can give very good insights into how players are performing in domestic cricket. I see this as a positive sign—that those involved are closely connected with cricket and have long been working in the domestic circuit. That will definitely help in player selection,” he added.

Bashar also emphasised that maintaining continuity from the previous panel would be a key priority as the new committee begins its tenure.

“The squad has been handled by a selection committee. So far, the current squad has been picked by them. We are likely to join from April 1, and from then on we’ll get involved gradually. I’ve already spoken with Lipu bhai—he’s been working with a plan for the last two years. I think maintaining that continuity is important. They must have been following a structured plan over this period, and we want to take that forward. We can add our inputs to improve things further. We had a brief discussion today and will sit again. Once we understand their work properly, we’ll fully start from next month,” he said.Source: daily Sun

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