Squad for SL tour to be finalised today
Members of the national selection committee, including chief selector Minhajul Abedin, had a meeting with the Bangladesh Cricket Board's cricket operations department yesterday before announcing the squad for the upcoming two-match Test series in Sri Lanka.
It was learned that selectors will have a final meeting with BCB president Nazmul Hassan today before officially announcing the squad.
There were rumours that the may recall the experienced Mahmudullah Riyad for the upcoming Sri Lanka series in the absence of star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who will miss the tour due to his obligations to Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League.
But Mahmudullah, who was dropped from the Test squad against Zimbabwe in 2020, is unlikely to feature as he is yet to recover from a strained left thigh suffered that ruled him out of the third T20I against New Zealand.
Left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman will also feature in the IPL for Rajasthan Royals and is currently in India. He may also not be considered for the Test series against Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh's Test performances have seen a major dip since a debacle against newest Test playing nation Afghanistan in 2019, followed by a 2-0 whitewash at home against an inexperienced West Indies side earlier this year.
Many have raised questions about head coach Russell Domingo and his long-term plans, but former captain and current board director Khaled Mahmud -- who will be the team leader for the Tigers on the upcoming Sri Lanka tour -- backed the South African and said the players needed to execute.
"He (Domingo) is obviously a good coach but a team's performance doesn't depend on a coach. It's a collective thing. It's the players who will play on the field, not the coach. A coach can give you a thousand plans, but if the players are unable to execute on the field then there is no point to having such plans," Mahmud said, adding that he was the Tigers would put up a better show in Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, the board will offer central contracts to cricketers based on their performances in the tour of Sri Lanka and the home series against the same opponents in May, informed cricket operations chairman Akram Khan yesterday.
The last national central contract had introduced separate contracts for red and white-ball cricket and had seen 16 cricketers sign. Seven were offered contracts for both red and white-ball cricket while four cricketers were signed for Test cricket only. For white-ball cricket, the BCB had offered contract to five cricketers.
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