'Fewer people, no problem'

When the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announces the preliminary squad for the home series against Sri Lanka or the final squads for the series that also features a tri-nation one-day tournament, there is expected to be less people involved in the selection.

Minhajul Abedin is currently heading the three-member selection committee without a third member, who is still to be named after the removal of Sajjad Ahmed. And with the board yet to find a replacement for the Tigers' coach after the resignation of Chandika Hathurusinga, the otherwise long and complex selection panel has currently turned into a three-man show (including cricket operation's chairman Akram Khan).

There might be a fourth member in the panel provided that BCB director Khaled Mahmud, who has previously worked as manager of the national team, joins in the capacity of national team director for the upcoming home series. However, the BCB is yet to make this position official.

The selectors are going to name a 30-member preliminary squad for the upcoming home series after the last round of the 19th National Cricket League which ends on December 23.

The preliminary squad will be named for the tri-nation ODI series comprising of Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka followed by a two-match Test and two T20I series against the Lankans.

“The selectors normally select the squad as we now have Nannu bhai (Minhajul Abedin) and me in the committee so we are doing our job as we used to do before. There is no difference when it comes to the selection process after the resignation of Hathurusingha,” Habibul told the Daily Star yesterday when asked if less people meant fewer headaches for selectors.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Mithun is all set to make a comeback in the ODI side after his consistent performance in the recently concluded Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), where he scored 329 runs in 15 games.

The 27-year-old will provide an option for the opening slot where Soumya Sarkar and Imrul Kayes have been struggling in recent times. There are a few other names in the likes of pacer Abu Jayed and Abu Hider, who bowled brilliantly in the BPL, for the tri-nation.