The Bangladesh Cricket Board has handed its men’s selection committee to former captain Habibul Bashar, ending weeks of speculation after Gazi Ashraf’s term expired in February.
The basics first. Bashar, 51, played 18 Tests and 69 one-dayers before moving into administration, and was already a selector for eleven seasons between 2013 and 2024. He then spent a short spell running the women’s department and, most recently, the age-group programme. The board approached him last month; after a few days’ thought, he accepted.
“I’m honoured to take on this responsibility again,” Bashar said in a short statement released by the BCB. “The immediate task is to build depth for the next World Cup cycle while keeping an eye on results in the shorter term.”
Alongside Bashar, the board has kept pace bowler Hasibul Hossain from the previous panel and added two respected domestic stalwarts, Naeem Islam and Nadif Chowdhury. The quartet will serve until the end of the 2027 50-over World Cup.
Why Naeem and Nadif? Naeem is still an active batter – 11,253 first-class runs with 34 hundreds – and is widely regarded as one of the calmest voices in the Dhaka dressing-rooms. “You need someone who understands modern batting from the inside,” a senior BCB official explained. Nadif, a left-hander with three T20Is to his name, has been working with the under-19 group since last year and fits the board’s push for smoother transition from age-group to senior cricket.
The BCB advertised the vacancies in February and, according to several former players, interviewed Javed Omar, Mohammad Rafique and a handful of others. In the end, continuity won out. Hasibul’s retention means there is at least one link to the Ashraf era, while Bashar’s long association with the current squad could prove handy in a hectic 18-month period featuring the 2026 Champions Trophy and the 2027 World Cup.
Selection, though, is rarely straightforward in Bangladesh. Critics point to a crowded domestic calendar, shifting pitches and, occasionally, political pressure. Bashar is aware. “We won’t get every call right,” he admitted in a brief chat with reporters outside the BCB office. “But the idea is to be transparent and to back players for more than one series.”
For now, the focus shifts to April’s home Tests against Sri Lanka. The new panel will announce its first squad later this month – an early glimpse of how Bashar, Hasibul, Naeem and Nadif plan to balance experience with the next wave.
