[Rinathq]

We are all writing about this since yesterday. Some of us make sense, others don’t. But the intention are all the same. We all have that one question. Why? Or based on what?. The funny thing is, we are all asking a question we know the answer does not exist. At Least not a satisfactory one. But it's a democracy so might as well!

Now, someone said something very crucial recently in banglacricket. He said we have to stop making certain officials scapegoats to our liking. At first the anger was too damm high to consider this interesting notion. But as I calmed my nerves down and had a glass of iced tea, I thought about it. Turns out I too have been part of this blame game for too long. Blaming those that are not “mastermind” enough to pull off such bold decisions. On the other side, they aren’t what I would call stupid either. They are just average people. These selectors are. But why are they making such extraordinary mistakes? I guess it’s not them. Its someone much more intelligent, has a well thought out plan and so far enjoying the success as they come and go.

Make no mistake. This isn’t about vilifying Mr. Chandika. God I wish he would stay with for as long as he possibly can. But hey, everyone makes mistakes and because we live under this age of free speech, I can say whatever I want. We all can! The mere intention is to raise some of his decisions that he could've avoided and it would've almost certainly yielded better output!

Ok I thought that was a good enough intro with a somewhat understandable thesis statement. Grade 6 English right there! Let's get to the point as I don’t want to “lose” my audience as my English teacher used to warn me.

So this squad for the Bangladesh team for this ever so significant tour of New Zealand did manage to shock a lot of fans. When I see a “lot”, I mean everyone that follows our cricket. When you have 50% of the population raises concern about a selection policy, it's a good thing because that can always happen and tells you the other half is with you! Comforting enough! When it starts to go over that 75% mark, that raises an eyebrow. Tells you that you have taken a gamble and the payoff is huge but so is the backlash. But when 100% of the crowd starts voicing against a decision, that's red flag, red light, siren whatever you want to call it. Let's go one by one. First up, Nasir Hossain. The undisciplined, the bad example and the one who you hate as a teacher but he always manages to pass the test and stay in your class. We all know the kind of utility player Nasir Hossain is. I don’t need to go pull up records because it's that obvious. True, there are times when even I felt that I would rather go with a lineup with players of more solid attributes or the capability to perform better in either departments. But not even in my dreams, I would discard someone like Nasir who I know can come to the rescue where ever I need him and however I need him. So first he lost his spot from the 11 which always seemed as sealed as the likes of Shakib, Mahmudullah, Tamim and so on. I guess his lack of improvement played a role in that. Fair enough,, lets bench him and let him work his way back with some determination which is the only thing he could possibly lack. But then, the coach went an extra step in removing him from 14 all together. How Mr.Chandika! That's very confident of you. You basically said, “You maybe good but unless you roll my way, I don’t need you” Good for you! Now we heard more ridiculous rumours and excuses about him then we would if we were to head Star Plus around 9:00Pm every weeknight! One word, Amateur!

Another person who is a victim to a similar situation. My favorite, Al Amin Hossain. Again, dropping someone like him who performs and performs damn well, that takes b’’’s! The reason, same old Star Plus. Neither makes sense but I can tell that wasn’t never their intention. The first excuse we have heard about Al Amin was the lack of discipline and we heard many times dating it back from the 2015 world cup. No one really paid attention because frankly we were doing ok without him. But then he returned, and he returned as someone whose performance you can't avoid even if u are blind. Performed at the big stage and performed at every kind of competition thrown at him. Yet again, when the team so desperately needed a seamer with experience, with control, with the level of effectiveness we lost with Mustafizur’s injury and Taskin remedial work he was Ignored again. And now, the squad against New Zealand basically says, “I will die but I won’t select you” O coach! Why the ego? Correct me if I am wrong (this applies to both Al Amin and Nasir), but when we have a student in the class that’s talented and performing but has a level of arrogance or the tendency to skip homework, what you do with them? Kick em out the class? Gosh I have never seen that but I knew student I wish got kicked out like that Seeing I was neither performing nor talented. But isn’t the right approach which our teachers always did was be patient with them, challenge them, motivate them and usually one of them always works! So this is where am confused about Mr. Chandika’s teaching techniques. Harsh I tell you! So harsh that it is damaging the performance of the school in general!

Now, yes, defenders will come out and say, “Well he is the most successful coach in this history of our cricket, we shouldn’t question him”. Or that pathetic grade 3 comeback, “You think you have the knowledge to challenge someone who is qualified for the job when you are no one?” O damm our beloved Sujon bhai said it himself. He mocked onto saying, we can't have the entire population of 160 million people become selectors! O really? I could answer this in both ways. Nicely, or not so nicely. Nicely would be, “Sujon bhai, did you see this kind of reaction for selection process during the last 2 years?” If no then don’t you think there is a reason why we are all trying to be selectors all of sudden? Not nicely would be telling Mr. Sujon that you possibly can’t think that there aren’t a few thousand people at least within the 160 million that matches the intellectual level of yours which really isn’t anything to brag about in the first place.


The thing is, none of Mr. Chandika’s gambles did not yield much long term solutions. Yes, he brought in discipline and I think that was a must for our team. But his list of gambles are rather alarming. Look at this list! Soumya Sarker, great first few months, and then a major headache for the selectors to come up with the right words to defend him. The coach is still struggling to defend him when the better option would’ve been to reduce pressure by letting him compete at a lower level and work on his issues. Then we had Jubair Hossain. We liked him too but even the coach couldn’t back him up. We had Mithun Ali, we had someone like Mukhtar Ali who was thrown in and out in no time. We had Saqlain Sajib, we had Mosharraf Rubel and now we have Kamrul Islam Rabbi and Shuvagata Hom. That's a pretty depressing list but in essence these are really the selections that the coach was directly rumoured to be involved with. How many of them are responsible for the turnout for Bangladesh cricket over the past 2 years? Barring Soumya (somewhat), NONE! Bad luck or bad at gambling all together?

Now we have this new trend starting up. We are taking a certain number of players in the squad so that they can be in a competitive circle of players and travel to gain experience of foreign conditions. Wow, when I was little, there was this team called “A” team that existed for such experiences. Is it too old school? Or perhaps cost effective I guess. Why send 14 of them when we can take 1-2 extra every time. But the point is, even the biggest defenders of the selection process cannot possibly come what and give an educated explanation on why a navy officer who just became a part time cricketer, an under 19 players who just started playing competitive domestic cricket and a thoroughly untested veteran can suddenly be selected or considered to play in a condition, even the most experienced in the squad have difficulty with. If you think you have an answer to this, please, enlighten us!


My criteria for selection is simple. Pick the ones that are performing NOW, not the ones that performed 2 years ago or the ones that you think will perform 2 years down the road. The leniency should exist only with the core players that have shown that they can comeback from a plunge. Handing out debuts to players does not warrant performance and consistency. We seem to be on a roll with debuts lately and when every other cricketing nation is conservative at that, maybe it's us that is doing something wrong no?

If the intention is to groom upcoming players, that is where you have to invest! You invest in coaches, invest in HP programs, invest in A tours. You don’t groom them by including them at the most competitive level. When they walk in the field with the jersey on, they better be ready! So far, Soumya wasn’t ready yet, Jubair wasn’t ready, Mithun wasn’t ready, Rabbi wasn’t ready, Hom wasn't ready for a comeback and the likes of Ibadat and Shanto are certainly not ready. A team is their place not the national team sir!


It seems to me that the coach has been gambling for too much lately. So much that it has turned into an addiction. He is gambling more every series. Question is, why gamble when you are wining fine by playing safe? Lower your stakes coach and spend the night at the casino. That seems to be working better for you rather than going “All in” as soon as you walk in!


Rinat Haque