Dooley reduces squad by six ahead of ASEAN Cup

Bangla Press Desk:  Bangladesh national football team head coach Thomas Dooley has trimmed his preliminary squad ahead of the upcoming ASEAN Cup, releasing six players as the team continues its preparations for the tournament in Indonesia.

Midfielder Syed Quazem Shah Kirmanee, Taj Uddin, fullback Isa Faysal, overseas-based duo Yasar Tahmid and Debojit Sarker, and Rabby Hossen Rahul have all been dropped from the initial 34-man roster. The training camp now holds 28 players, a number that will be reduced further before the team departs.National team manager Amirul Islam Babu confirmed the cuts as part of the usual selection process. "As time goes on, the preliminary squad gets shorter," he said. "Through that normal process, Yasar Tahmid, Debojit Sarker, Isa Faysal, Quazem Shah, Taj Uddin and Rahul have been dropped. Another player might be left out. However, the coach has not yet informed us exactly how many he will take to Indonesia."

Explaining his decisions, Dooley pointed to the difficult task of picking a final travel party of 23. "We have more than 30 players, but only 23 can go," the coach noted. "We have extra players in some specific positions. So we have to make decisions based on positions and performance."

The coach admitted that delivering the bad news to players is a tough part of the job. "It is always difficult to tell a player why they have been left out, and to explain what we didn't get or what we wanted to see. You can probably understand, there are a lot more detailed issues behind this."

Dooley also stressed that players in the same area of the pitch often carry very different tactical duties, which factors heavily into his team selection. "There are specific tasks and responsibilities for every position in detail," he explained. "For example, there are differences in the types of players for the number 8, number 6 and number 10 positions, right? I know many fans do not understand this, or have never even heard about it. That is why Kazem cannot be compared with Sohel Rana."

The cuts are particularly notable for Kazem Shah, Taj Uddin and Isa Faysal. Both Kazem and Taj were included in Dooley's recent squad for the San Marino tour. Isa Faysal, meanwhile, was named in the starting lineup for Dooley's first match in charge against San Marino. The fullback's failure to make the final ASEAN Cup squad comes shortly after he earned a recall to the national setup following a long absence.

Bangladesh will play a practice match against local club Fortis tomorrow as part of their final preparations. The squad is scheduled to leave for Indonesia on 19 September, with the ASEAN Cup set to kick off in Jakarta on 25 September.