Sports Desk:

Bangladesh chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain has snapped at a journalist when he inquired about the future of Tamim Iqbal as far as their plan of action for the Champions Trophy is concerned.

“I don’t want to take that question,” Ashraf said, reacting sharply to the question.

Tamim, who is yet to retire from other formats apart from T20Is, has recently stated publicly that if he returns to the national set-up, there needs to be a purpose.

The media only wanted to know whether the selection panel really has any purpose in mind that they could offer to the left-hander when he decided not to elaborate on this matter.

However, the chief selector insisted that Tamim’s return to competitive cricket with the ongoing NCL gives a ray of hope.

“As for Tamim Iqbal, he has resumed playing, which is a ray of hope. I believe we’ll know very soon whether he will be available or not. If he is, that’s wonderful,” Ashraf told reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Monday.

“In Tamim’s case, if someone withdraws themselves, as you know, there was a previous board with differing opinions and several issues. However, under this board, a positive aspect is that Tamim is returning to the field and preparing himself for a major tournament. We are in a position to discuss things with him,” he said.

“The board and the selectors will sit together to find a solution,” he said.

“Tamim needs to improve his fitness further. When a player has been playing for so long, they know how to refine and prepare themselves for the global stage. Whatever help he needs, the board will provide. This shouldn’t be an issue,” the chief selector said though failing to come up with a definite answer as far as explaining the purpose is concerned, a prerequisite to make Tamim don the national jersey again.

Ashraf also seemed to be at dark regarding the future of Shakib Al Hasan as far as his participation in the Champions Trophy is concerned.

Shakib also retired from T20Is but there is a lot of uncertainty as far as his participation in the national cricket team is concerned.

Apart from having political issues that barred Shakib from entering the country, the veteran all-rounder came under the spotlight for suspected bowling action and needs to clear that if he wants to bowl again at the international level.

“I don’t have direct answers to certain questions. Regarding Shakib’s issue, you are all already aware of it. I cannot provide any clear statements on that matter,” said Ashraf.

“The communication process with Shakib is through Cricket Operations,” he said.

Ashraf further added that he is not aware how out of form Litton Kumar Das, who failed to open his account in the T20I opener after scoring 2, 4 and 0 respectively in the three ODIs, was chosen for captaincy role in the absence of regular skipper Najmul Hossain, who is ruled out of the West Indies tour due to injury.

“The selection of the national team falls under our jurisdiction, but deciding who will captain the team is the board’s prerogative. Whether it’s a short-term or long-term decision, the board determines this based on the situation. That’s what happened this time as well. After I joined, I was asked to recommend captains and vice-captains only for the ‘A’ team and the High-Performance team, not for the national team,” said Ashraf.

“As the chief of the selection panel under the board, I am speaking from my position, which comes with job responsibilities and ethics. Beyond that, I can’t comment further at this moment. The board probably made a decision based on some short-term calculations (in appointing Litton as captain). It’s not like the board had many other options either, as several players were injured,” he said adding that they are concerned with the form of Litton in white-ball cricket.

“We also understand that the team has high expectations from Litton, given his quality as a batsman. However, he hasn’t been as consistent in white-ball cricket. That’s why we kept him out of the playing XI in a decisive match of a tournament, ( last ODI against Afghanistan at home in 2024)” said Ashraf.

“Currently, he is our T20 captain, and a series is ongoing. I think it’s not the ideal time to delve deeply into these matters. But I can say that we are definitely concerned about the way he is getting out. If his batting needs any adjustments in the future, the coaches are there to help, or if he needs a break, that can be arranged. Alternatively, he might make a comeback in the next two matches,” he said.

While other countries are fixing their spots for the Champions Trophy it seemed to be quite the opposite for Bangladesh and the selection panel head did not shy away from accepting the fact that only suggested it would be a last-minute call ahead of the global tournament to prepare their squad considering a lot of things need to be cleared before that