The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has broken new ground, bringing former captain Salma Khatun into the senior women’s selection panel beside incumbent selector Sazzad Ahmed. The move arrives with barely a fortnight left before the squad for next month’s Women’s World Cup has to be signed off, so Salma’s first task is likely to be both swift and public.
Salma’s playing record is long-standing. The all-rounder became Bangladesh’s inaugural women’s captain in 2012, eventually leading in 65 T20 internationals and 18 one-dayers. By the time she played her last T20I, she had appeared in 95 matches, comfortably the most by any Bangladeshi woman. Between 2014 and 2015 she even sat on top of the ICC T20I bowling rankings, her off-spin returning 84 wickets at 18.57, highlighted by 4 for 6 against Sri Lanka in Sylhet.
The BCB is bullish about the appointment. “I think this is a revolutionary decision by our [BCB] president [Aminul Islam], as having someone like Salma involved will provide great support for women’s cricket,” Iftekhar Rahman, chair of the board’s media committee, said. “This is the first time such an appointment has been made in Bangladesh.” The choice of wording captures both pride and relief: the women’s set-up has craved greater representation for years, and Salma’s playing résumé all but forced the issue.
There was a change on the men’s side too. Former fast bowler Hasibul Hossain, already on the junior panel, moves up to join chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain and Abdur Razzak. The third seat had been empty since Hannan Sarkar stepped down in February. Hasibul’s own career spanned five Tests and 32 ODIs, including Bangladesh’s maiden Test against India in 2000 and the famous leg-bye that sealed the 1997 ICC Trophy final.
In isolation, neither appointment rewrites the playbook. Together, they hint at a board finally leaning on the experience of ex-internationals—men and women alike—to shape the next generation.
