'Chandika needs to be a selector'
Former national captain turned Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) director Khaled Mahmud has indentified two major reasons behind the board's moves to revamp the selection panel which may give coach Chandika Hathurusingha more power in the running of the national team.
“First of all everything is under discussion and nothing is final. But it seems that the selectors are not quite good at keeping up with the fast-track thinking of Chandika and the board also found a lack of coordination between selectors and the coach. So I personally feel that it would be good if the coach becomes part of the selection panel,” opined Mahmud, echoing the recent support of BCB president Nazmul Hassan Papon for the idea of providing the national coach a say in team selection.
Mahmud was part of the team which negotiated with the Sri Lankan and is now working with him as team manager, and that association made him a big admirer of Chandika. “We still have a long way to go in international cricket but we gained a lot of respect in world cricket following our recent performances. Teamwork made it possible but I must give a majority of the credit to the coach and the coaching staff for this success,” said Mahmud.
“He [Hathurusingha] is a fantastic inclusion in our cricket and it is his idea of giving the players the freedom that helped the team to get the best out of the players. I have never seen a coach work in such detail as he does. Players should get the priority for any success but one can't ignore Chandika's brilliant planning both for practice and matches. Without any doubt the current coaching staff is the best the country ever had,” he continued.
It is believed that Mahmud's opinion will be immense in the revamp of the selection panel.
“Everybody is working in the greater interest of our cricket no doubt and Chandika is no exception. He is thoroughly professional in his thinking and is hardly driven by emotion. I believe it would be good for our cricket if he is involved in the selection panel. Ultimately the coach and captain take all the blame for failures.
“It is the coach who is actually making all the plans and he needs to be part of the selection panel to discuss with selectors about his demands and negotiate for desired players. I think he has faced some difficulties in executing his plans because of the lack of his desired players and we can solve those problems including him in the panel,” explained Mahmud.
The former national skipper however wants the coach to do the selector's job in the true sense. “Definitely, if he is involved in the panel he needs to extend his working areas in the off time so that he can watch the young talent all over the country.”
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