Sabbir Rahman is the captain's choice, says BCB Chief Selector

Team Bangladesh is lined up to tour New Zealand for an ODI and a Test series. The ODI series commences on February 13, and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) recently announced the 15-member squad for the ODI series. The squad sees the return of middle-order batter Sabbir Rahman, who is currently serving a ban imposed on him by the board.

Owing to frequent off-field misconduct, the BCB had imposed a 6 months ban on the cricketer. Albeit the ban is not getting over by the time the New Zealand series kicks off, the player has been named in the squad. Revealing the reason behind his inclusion, the Chief Selector Minjahul Abedin remarked that it was the captain Mashrafe Mortaza who pushed for Sabbir’s selection.

He cited that the captain wanted a player in the lower middle-order who can hit the long ball against the quicks, and Sabbir fits the role perfectly. The board further hinted that Sabbir is in the frame of things for the World Cup 2019 as well.

“Let me make one thing clear: he is totally the captain’s choice. He was very insistent about Sabbir. We agreed with him. They want someone who can handle fast bowling lower down the order. He has been picked with the New Zealand series and World Cup in mind. The captain is quite confident about him. I am also hopeful that he can return well,” Minjahul Abedin quoted.

“He has performed in the past and has been playing domestic cricket. BPL is an international-standard tournament with a lot of overseas players so we can take his performance there seriously. The selectors have to go with the captain and team management’s plan,” the Chief Selector added further.

The disciplinary concerns

Commenting on the disciplinary issues that the cricketer has had in the past, and the decision to reduce the suspension period, the BCB Chief Selector defended it by revealing that it was a clearance that the BCB gave. The bad was reduced by a month. Although the news did not float in the media, but the decision was made following the improved conduct shown by the cricketer.

“It is a matter of the disciplinary committee. He was made available from January 31. You [the media] were not informed but his punishment was reduced by a month. We knew about it before selecting the team. The selection requires the signature of the board president so we can’t just select him without clearance,” Abedin revealed.

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