Everybody's 'somebody'

Bangladesh have been playing good cricket for quite some time. The Tigers had an impressive World Cup where they made it to the quarterfinals for the first time. They followed it up with an even more impressive performance against Pakistan in their home series in which they completed a 3-0 ODI whitewash and enforced a creditable draw in the first of two Tests.

But success, as it has often been the case, brings bad blood understandably in the form of an unhealthy race among individuals or groups, who wish to dictate terms, more in an attempt to be more in the limelight.

Fortunately the Bangladesh dressing room is still quite a handful distance away from what one may term another clash of egos between the backroom staff and the selectors after the national team coach Chandika Hathurusingha referred to chief selector Faruque Ahmed as 'somebody'.

"I can't comment on somebody else's opinion. Like I said before I can't comment on the combination of the team because we haven't fixed it yet," said Hathurusingha in response to a question on whether he would go in line with the thinking of the chief selector's 'seven batsmen and four specialist bowlers' policy in the one-off Test against India.

The acid remark of the Sri Lankan during the pre-match briefing at Fatullah yesterday was primarily a rude reminder for the chief selector that his three-man panel has nothing to do with selecting the playing eleven, which is an exclusive domain for the coach, captain and his deputy.

However, it was more like a 'blow for blow' in an ongoing battle between the coach and selectors over the selection of leg-spinner Jubair Hossain. It all started when the coach asked for Jubair to take the World Cup bus which the selectors denied and this young leggie has remained an apple of discord between the two parties ever since.

If Hathurusingha is guilty of insulting Faruque publicly, which has become a standard norm after the national team management committee chief Naimur Rahman's hard-hitting remarks against the coach, then the chief selector himself is hardly immune to it.

After announcing the 14-man squad, Faruque went public by saying that he had complied with the request of the coach and the captain while selecting the Test team and now the onus was on them who they pick for the playing eleven.

This was a strange statement from a responsible person. Why would Faruque or any chief selector comply with a request? If he deems a request illogical, he is not supposed to entertain that. And once a decision is agreed upon, it's the responsibility of everyone to back that.

But this is a clear demonstration of division between the two parties who are supposed to work in harmony. There might be endless debates before a decision for the good of the team. But the current tendency of 'I'm not part of it' has already created enough discomfort in an otherwise healthy and vibrant Tigers dressing room.

The first bad symptom surfaced after the second Test against Pakistan when Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim said that fielding first was a collective decision. Unfortunately, Faruque publicly denied that they were part of it.

Surely Faruque was not part of the decision. But was it absolutely necessary for him to go public against something he is very much part of? Faruque is a wise man and so is Hathurusingha. And they should know it better than anybody else that their profiles and future hinge with the success of the team, which can only grow in a harmonious atmosphere on and off the field.