Little logic in additions

Will Mehedi Maruf travel to Australia with the squad for the preparation camp in Sydney, Australia and then tour New Zealand? The 28-year-old batsman's travelling papers are being prepared but it is not yet certain whether any additional player will be added to the squad that was earlier announced for the tour.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan Papon said three days back in Chittagong that one or two additional performers from the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) may be included in Bangladesh's preparatory squad for the New Zealand series.

Chief selector Minhajul Abedin however said yesterday that the selectors were yet to sit to discuss and decide on the inclusion of the additional player(s). “We are yet to discuss the matter. Hopefully we will be able to inform the media about this matter on November 24. I cannot say anything more regarding this issue,” Minhajul told The Daily Star over phone last night.

Since the BCB boss made the surprising announcement, three performers' names in the ongoing BPL came to fore. Two of them -- left-handed opener Shahriar Nafees and all-rounder Nasir Hossain -- were already in the stand-by list, so their necessary travelling paperwork is being completed with the other selected players drafted in the 22-member preparatory squad.

First of all it, the wisdom of such an announcement without a special situation arising and after the squad has been announced is questionable. There have also been discussions and criticism about the rationale behind picking additional players for a seven-day camp. Besides that, there is hardly a compelling reason to add any one of the three players being discussed.

Many also believe that it would not be a wise decision to expose a player like Maruf in New Zealand; instead he can get the exposure in subcontinental conditions, such as the tour of Sri Lanka next year.

Moreover, it would make sense and perhaps be more beneficial to the players in question to allow them to play in the National Cricket League instead of being passengers on the tour of New Zealand. As things originally stood, Nafees and Nasir could only have been called up if an injury problem cropped up during the New Zealand tour.

Most importantly, a team has already been announced, presumably with a certain plan and it is not good practice that anybody other than the selectors becomes involved in the specialised task of squad selection.