Future, not past the yardstick for selectors
How can we measure the performance of the selectors? There are no standard indicators by which we can identify the success or failure of a selection committee. That is why the selectors always try to remind us that they are actually performing a thankless job as the players and coaches are the ones who receive the accolades after every success.
Minhajul Abedin and Habibul Bashar can however consider themselves lucky as they got some recognition from Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan when they were given another extension as chief selector and selector respectively, till next year’s ICC World Twenty20 in Australia.
Here, the indicator was the success of the national team. Minhajul also had no doubt about how good a job the panel have done so far and reminded everyone that everything depended on the result of the national team.
The Tigers won 27 matches and lost 30 out of 60 ODIs, won six and lost 14 of 21 Tests and won 13 T20Is and lost 25 out of 39 matches since 2016, the year that Minhajul was appointed chief selector after Faruque Ahmed resigned from the post in protest of the controversial two-tier selection system that he believed would curtail the freedom of the selectors.
In response to the new extension, Minhajul also reminded everyone of the vastness of their work from the domestic circuit to national team. Certainly, bringing Mr. X to the team and then subsequently dropping him after a few bad performances to make way for Mr. Y and again calling back Mr. X for Mr. Y’s failure and then putting both in long hibernation for another fresh cycle before selecting them again is no way the job should be done by the selectors.
Spotting new talent, creating enough space to nurse them in order to raise hopes for the future of the country’s cricket should be the motto for any selection panel. Here lies the question as to whether this selection panel can provide an assurance of a bright future for Bangladesh cricket, or are they only playing games with Mr. X and Mr. Y or Mr. Z.
Bangladesh has become a force in ODI cricket, although this World Cup provided enough indication that they have to go far to take the team to the next level and that there is still a long way to go to become a force in Test and T20I cricket.
Still, while they are banking on the national team’s success, it is actually their predecessors who laid the foundation, putting their belief in a bunch of young cricketers who later came to be known as the ‘Big Five’ and became the main architects of successes.
But we are still not sure what life will be like after the current senior players. The national team are currently struggling from a lack of a steady opening pair for some time now, while pace bowling is a big concern for the team and no one knows who will take the baton of the spin attack after Shakib Al Hasan.
The time has come to make sure that the seniors will get some rest to prolong their careers but can this selection panel make room for that with backup options? The current series in Sri Lanka is probably the best example of how far away they are from that luxury.
Cynics say that this selection panel enjoys very limited freedom in terms of final selection and they have had to swallow bitter pills sometimes when directives have come from board high-ups for the selection of a player.
Still, the responsibility rests on the Minhajul-Habibul pair, especially when they are portraying a bright picture. They will not be remembered for what the team achieved during their tenure but how they shaped the future at a critical juncture of Bangladesh cricket.
