‘No bias’: BHF defends Asia Cup squad selection
The Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF dismissed allegations of bias in the selection of the national team for the upcoming Men's Hockey Asia Cup, beginning August 29 in Bihar, India.
The BHF yesterday finalised an 18-member squad with two standbys, leaving out most-recent captain Pushkor Khisha Mimo, seasoned campaigner Moinul Islam Koushik, along with Nayeem Uddin and Abed Uddin -- all of whom featured in April's AHF Cup in Indonesia.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The dropped players, who had been staying at the BHF dormitory, reportedly confronted general secretary Riazul Hassan after the announcement and engaged in a heated exchange with a joint secretary.
"Both spoke loudly but it was amicable and later it was settled down because they [players] understood it," BHF general secretary Riazul Hassan told the reporters yesterday.
"If anyone thought that there has been bias in the selection, then it was a wrong idea because the members of the selection committee watched the training in the last 10 days -- even I also watched the matches. The effort was to form the squad with the best available players."
One of the excluded players claimed they had been punished for protesting against food and other issues during the AHF Cup. Hassan, however, denied the accusation.
"I also heard the allegation, but the fact is that there was no such official allegation in the manager's report. If there are any such allegations, then we must investigate the incident. And we never called those players to the camp, but we called all those players in the camp," said Hassan, adding that the players who were dropped would have the opportunity to join the preparation camp in future.
Head coach Moshiur Rahman Biplob said, "What we wanted from them in the preparation camp, they could not deliver, and the players have been picked up on the basis of performance and some other things."
Reazul Karim Babu has been named captain, with Ashraful Islam as his deputy.
"The squad is a mixture of senior and junior players. Senior players are experienced, but the junior players are ahead of the seniors in terms of fitness.
"If we can provide the right guidelines to the junior players and follow the instructions of the coach, then we expect something good," said Babu, hoping that they can qualify for the World Cup if they perform as per their strength despite the lack of preparation.
Squad: Biplob Kujur, Nuruzzman Nayan, Ashraful Islam, Rezaul Karim Babu, Fahad Ahmed Shitul, Sohanur Rahman Sabuj, Hojaifa Hossain, Amirul Islam, Mehedi Hasan, Roman Sarkar, Fazle Hossain Rabbi, Al Nahian Shuvo, Tayeb Ali, Tanvir Rahman Siam, Rokibul Hasan, Obaidul Hossain Joy, Arshad Hossain and Mohammad Abdullah.
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