New selection panel under Basher completes signing

The signing process of new selection panel was completed on Wednesday as the Habibul Bashar-led panel took office, replacing Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu’s panel.

Bashar confirmed that the four selectors got together in the Bangladesh Cricket Board offices and also informed that his panel will now focus on team selection for the upcoming New Zealand ODIs.

“We just got together the four of us. I just arrived in the country late last night, so we just completed the signing procedures today,” Bashar informed.

Mustafizur Rahman will be exempted from the New Zealand T20Is, which come after the ODI series, but in terms of squad selections, not much discussion has taken place yet, he relayed.

Bashar, 53, brings extensive experience to the role, having previously served as a national selector for both the men’s and women’s teams. A gritty batter in his playing days, he was the first Bangladeshi to reach 3,000 runs in Test cricket.

Hasibul Hossain Shanto was retained in the selection panel, while BCB had included two new selectors in the setup in the form of Naeem Islam and Nadif Chowdhury.

Having earlier been announced as chief selector, Bashar had relayed to The Daily Star that he was in for the challenge, and in a data-driven, competitive cricketing world, he was not going to ignore statistical analysis but was keener on the judgement of his own eyes.

“Data is very important since it will give us relevant information, but personally I am more of a believer in what my eyes can see,” he had said.

“Definitely, what kind of ground one is playing at, the opponents, or even the general direction of the wind at particular grounds are important data in terms of selection, but I would like to assess things through my eyes before taking decisions. 

“The work will be challenging, and there is a lot of responsibility. I love to be challenged, and it’s a big honour too.”