Faruque resigns as Bangladesh chief selector

Bangladesh chief selector Faruque Ahmed has resigned hours after the BCB ratified significant changes to the way Bangladesh squads would henceforth be chosen.

Under the new system, a three-member panel, to which Faruque had been appointed chief, would pick the team and put it forward to a six-member committee that included BCB cricket operations chairman Akram Khan and BCB director Khaled Mahmud. The final nod would then be given by the BCB president.

Faruque told ESPNcricinfo that the involvement of board members in the selection process would be too much of an interference: ‘It will be difficult to work in this system. We have to have scope to work without interference. The independence of the selectors will be greatly compromised. The new system isn’t going to help Bangladesh cricket, as it won’t be able to deliver. There will be shared accountability where no one would really know who took the decision.’

Faruque had voiced his concerns over this three-step process when it was proposed last month. And on Sunday when it received the okay from the BCB, he said ‘the decision has been taken, I will not work under this system. I will complete the formalities once I return home from the US.’

Previously, the selectors would seek out the captain and the coach for their inputs, but had the freedom to choose a side they thought was best.

This side would then need to be approved by the cricket operations committee chairman and finally by the BCB president as well. Such has been the case for more than a decade.

‘You only change a system when it’s broken,’ Faruque said. ‘Bangladesh cricket has been in good health so I didn’t see any reason to make such a big change to the selection process.

Faruque was appointed in December 2013 for a second stint as chief selector. His first term lasted four years from 2003 to 2007.

He was praised for his bold approach, which led him to choose a 20-year old Mushfiqur Rahim ahead of Khaled Mashud as Bangladesh’s specialist wicketkeeper for the 2007 World Cup.

The decision paid off as Mushfiqur went on to become one of his country’s most consistent performers.

Faruque faced some trouble as well, notably when Mushfiqur said he wasn’t consulted when the 2014 Asia Cup squad was picked, and when legspinner Jubair Hossain was not picked in the squad for the 2015 World Cup despite coach Hathurusingha wanting him, reports ESPNcricinfo.

His second stint also included a nine-month period between January and September 2014 when Bangladesh won only two out of 27 matches across formats.

But they ended that year by beating Zimbabwe in three Tests and five ODIs, beat England at Adelaide to qualify for the World Cup quarter-final, racked up series wins over Pakistan, India and South Africa in 50-over cricket and also competed in the final of the Asia Cup 2016.

‘I have done my job with all honesty,’ Faruque said. ‘I think I deserve a bit of [credit for] what Bangladesh have achieved when I was the chief selector.

I think Bangladesh cricket and the game itself is much larger than a chief selector so I hope the best interest of Bangladesh cricket is taken into account.

I am sure the BCB has made this new committee with good intentions but it would do more harm than good.’