The Bangladesh Cricket Board appointed former national captain Faruk Ahmed as the new national chief selector, BCB officials said on Tuesday.
The decision came after an emergency meeting chaired by BCB president Nazmul Hasan at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. The post became vacant after former chief selector Akram Khan stepped down to become a BCB director.
‘Faruk received the support of the majority of the directors for the post,’ said Nazmul. ‘We hope he will give his best over the next two years.’
‘Basically there were two names in Faruk and Nannu for the post,’ said Nazmul.
Faruk, who led Bangladesh in their ICC Trophy campaign in 1994, was also the chief selector from 2003 to 2007.
He played a key role in promoting young players like Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim Iqbal during his first term as chief selector.
Faruk will lead a three-member selection committee, which also includes former national captains Minhajul Abedin and Habibul Bashar.
Faruk is looking forward to taking up the challenge and is keen to develop stability in the team in the upcoming days.
His first assignment is the forthcoming home series against Sri Lanka.
‘My major goal is to continue working towards developing the national team and keeping our stability in place.
‘We cannot make changes for the sake of changing because they had been playing together for quite some time now,’ said Faruk.
He added that the challenge is not quite the same as that during his earlier stint as the chief national selector because of the Tigers’ recent performance.
‘I think the challenge is different from my earlier stint because during that time we were trying to develop a niche for ourselves in the world map, but now that is not the case.
‘We are winning on many occasions and it has raised our expectations as well.
‘Now we need to move forward, constantly carrying the baggage of expectations,’ he added.
Meanwhile, close sources indicated that selector Minhajul Abedin was extremely upset by the decision and was considering quitting his post.
Minhajul was a contender for the chief selector’s post and was optimistic about his chances after serving in the Akram-led panel.
Minhajul confirmed that he will make a decision on Wednesday.
-With New Age input
