Decision came days before selectors name WC squad
If the Bangladesh’s Cricket Board’s new list of contracted players is an indication of World Cup squad, left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak can take rest and set his plans for watching the matches in television. With the deadline for announcing the squad looming large, the sign is ominous for Razzak, whose fate is hanging in the balance, as the BCB set to drop him from the list for the first time in 10 years.
Razzak, the leading wicket-taker for Bangladesh in one-day internationals with 207 scalps, has been in BCB payroll since 2004.
The cricket operations committee of the BCB has prepared a list for 14-cricketers for the new contract and the list is now waiting for the final approval from the Board.
Razzak, said he is aware that he could be dropped but refused to make further comments.
‘I also got a message that I could be left out of contract. But it is BCB’s decision; I cannot do much about it.’
BCB’s chief executive officer Nizmuddin Chowdhury, however, said they are yet to receive any list from the cricket operations committee.
‘We did not get any list yet. Even if they [the cricket operations committee] prepare one, it is not final,’ he said.
‘The board of directors will have the final say in this matter. They can always add a player or drop some as it happened in the past.’
The list provided a broad indication about Razzak’s future as he is apparently no longer in selectors’ long-term plan after taking just three wickets in six matches in 2014.
Selectors are set to announce the 15-member World Cup squad in a day or two with Razzak, Bangladesh’s most successful bowler in the tournament with 20 wickets from 15 matches, vying for a place alongside few other spinners.
Along with Razzak, Robiul Islam and Sohag Gazi were also excluded from the cricket operations list.
Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam and Arafat Sunny along with pace bowler Al-Amin Hossain were included in the list for the first time while paceman Shafiul Islam and batsman Imrul Kayes also newly made the list.
It was learnt that selectors had provided the cricket operations with a 15-member list but they dropped one cricketer to recommend 14 for the fresh contract.
The players to be included for the new contracts are — Sakib al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mashrafee bin Murtaza, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Rubel Hossain, Nasir Hossain, Mominul Haque, Anamul Haque, Al Amin Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Taijul Islam, Arafat Sunny, and Imrul Kayes.
-With New Age input
