‘Still four months until WC’

With the World Cup 2023 in India fast approaching, the country’s cricket fraternity’s discussions focus on the 15 men who will represent Bangladesh.

However, Bangladesh National Team chief selector Minhajul Abedin refused to comment on the matter, stating that there were still four months to go until the showcase tournament and that they were focused more on the upcoming bilateral series.

Bangladesh will take on Afghanistan next month in a one-off Test, and then three One-Day Internationals and two Twenty20 Internationals in July.

The National Team chief selector said their focus was currently on that, rather than the World Cup.

“We are not thinking about what is being said around. There are still four months to go till the World Cup. We have the Afghanistan series ahead. We are thinking about the bilateral series. I cannot say anything about the World Cup because there are still four months left,” he said.

Minhajul added, “We are the only Test-playing nation whose World Cup squad is being discussed now. We have to see the players. There are back-to-back series coming up. We have to see their fitness and performance and then decide the team.”

While the chief selector said that Bangladesh were the only Test-playing nation to have their squad discussed, the reason might be that there are several gaps in the squad that needs filling.

One of the burning questions is whether Mahmudullah Riyad, the veteran who did not manage to find a spot in the recent ODI series against Ireland, will be travelling to India. Minhajul refused to comment on whether the 37-year-old would be selected.

“I don’t want to say anything on this (Mahmudullah’s selection). We are not preparing the squad for the World Cup, we are preparing the one for the Afghanistan series. We will submit the team for that series next week and the practice sessions will start on the 29th,” he said.

There have been several questions about Mahmudullah’s fielding, which could have been the reason behind his axing, and while Minhajul refused to comment on that, he pointed out that fielding was quite important in white-ball cricket.

“I can’t say anything about that (Mahmudullah’s fielding) right now. The team has improved in fielding a lot. Fielding is a very important aspect of white-ball cricket. Starting from the team management, everyone is concerned about it,” the chief selector said.

While he refused to answer questions on Mahmudullah, Minhajul said that there would be no experiments in the squad for the Afghanistan series, which might be seen as a nod to the Tigers continuing with their current squad.

“There will not be any experiments. Afghanistan are a very good side. We lost the last Test against them, which was a bad experience. We will not take them lightly. The best possible side will play against Afghanistan,” he said.

However, that might see pacer Taskin Ahmed, who recently recovered from an injury, not being picked for the Test against the Afghans as the team management is looking to play him sporadically to keep him fit for the World Cup.

“We have planned to play him (Taskin) selectively. The upcoming series are important. Many players are not getting playing time, giving them that is also important. We will decide once the coach arrives on May 27,” Minhajul said.