BCB reverting to BCCB?

With the Tigers off from international assignments after one-and-a-half years of hectic schedule, it gives the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) plenty of time to reflect and prepare itself to build on an unprecedented success in a magnificent 2015, which allowed Bangladesh to emerge from the shadow of 'pushovers' to a 'real threat' to the established force, especially in the shorter versions of the game.

But is the BCB, which has every reason to wade in that success, heading towards the right direction to prepare itself for bigger battles at a time when the International Cricket Council is once again seriously contemplating a two-tier system, allowing the high and mighty more exposure and relegating the lower half to beg for the leftovers?

The BCB has agreed in principle to renew the contract of Bangladesh coach Chandika Hatuhrusingha, which can be a reward for the Sri Lankan for masterminding Tigers recent success story. It is a good decision but not an unexpected one. But then the departure of bowling coach Heath Streak is a classic example of how the board has treated an outgoing coach after every failure over the years. We are not sure if the Zimbabwean was served with a letter of appreciation from the BCB headquarters. Even if it was the case, we are sorry to say it's not decent not to make such things public.

The board is now planning to restructure the selection committee. A revamp is always appreciated if it adds value. But if we take what the BCB president Nazmul Hassan Papon said recently about the restructuring of the selection committee at face value, then we are definitely in for a shock.

“We will have a three-man selection panel and a new selection committee which will include the coach, the manager and the head of cricket operations committee along with the three selectors. 

“Before every series, the selection committee will have a meeting. In that meeting the coach will provide the national selectors with a strategy. The team manager has been included here so that he can voice the opinions of the captain and the players,” said the BCB boss while explaining the new-look selection policy.

 The coach imparting his input is understood. But it is hard to gauge the manager's role and his proxy for captain and vice-captain. We know about one Imran Khan, who was not only an inspirational captain but played the role of a dictator when it came to selecting players. He virtually hand-picked cricketers like Wasim Akram and Inzamamul Haq to win the World Cup in 1992.

Bangladesh's one-day and T20 captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, who could have easily been the Test captain also had he been physically fit, may not be as big in stature as Imran. But he is more than an Imran Khan in the context of Bangladesh cricket. And he does not need someone to speak his mind via somebody. We deem the BCB president's remark as an insult to Mashrafe and what he did for the nation.

The board's ploy to add more people in the selection procedure is nothing new and the inclusion of the manger and the chairman of the cricket operations committee is a dirty game the BCB high-ups tried to play to have more control over the selection of the team. There was a time when 'Control' was the third word in the acronym BCCB. And it seems we are backtracking to BCCB from BCB at a time when Chandika's mantra of 'freedom of expression' had shown the light at the end of a dark tunnel.