Bangladesh Cricket Board inducts head coach Chandika Hathurusingha in the selection panel

Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha is set to wear the selector’s hat as well to keep track of emerging players in domestic cricket. Nazmul Hassan, the BCB president, revealed the technical change on Monday (May 30), while speaking to bdnews24.com.

“I want coach to watch matches rather than sitting idle,” Hassan said. “He will have a role to play. Someone or the other must watch each domestic match so that we know about the emerging cricketers. I don’t want a situation where the coach doesn’t know anything about a new player.

Hathurusingha, who is currently on a “number of days” contract, would be needed to closely monitor domestic cricket if he gets appointed as a selector.

“Our contract with him is based on “number of days” but he is taking advantage of it. We got him whenever we wanted him, and it will happen in the future too.”

On Monday, Hassan held discussions with the six-member technical committee on the proposals made by the working committee last week, including the expansion of the selection panel.

Hassan said that it was unanimously agreed that the national coach should be part of the selection committee and that a fourth selector should be added to the panel. He also said the board wanted to add the manager and cricket operations committee chairman to the panel. The chairman of the cricket operations committee is likely to head the panel.

“There may be one other selector included as well as the coach becoming a selector,” Hassan said. “The technical committee agreed that the coach should be in the selection committee since it was like that in the past.

“I want to see our selectors go to Sylhet, Chittagong and Khulna to watch domestic matches. This is why I want four selectors instead of three.”

BCB have previously also involved the national team coach in the selection panel. Earlier, Dav Whatmore was included in the committee which was also headed by Faruk Ahmed.

Hassan explained that the cricket operations committee chairman would not be directly involved in selection. Former Bangladesh captain Akram Khan is currently the cricket operations committee chairman.

“The cricket operations committee’s chairman won’t be directly involved with selection but he will be present when the selectors sit with the coach to pick the squad,” Hassan said.

“The recommendation to include the manager hasn’t come to me yet. But the selected squad has always come through the operations committee. The change now will be that before sending the final squad to me, the coach and selectors will be present when it is sent so that there’s no disagreement between them after sending the team. Sometimes changes have to be made so that these things don’t happen.”

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