Clarity behind decisions lacking

In recent times there have been a few sensational decisions taken by Bangladeshi cricketers that hit the headlines but as time goes by those decisions may emerge as vague.

Keeping the questions alive as to whether Mahmudullah Riyad who reportedly announced his retirement from Test format in the middle of the series in Zimbabwe in July this year but up until now, no official statement has been presented neither by the player himself, nor by the team management or the board.

Then it was Tamim Iqbal who opted himself out of the upcoming ICC World T20 selection through a social media video recently as the question raised on whether it was the team management who were actually supposed to make the call after consulting with the player.

The last and the biggest sensational news was revealed by head coach Russell Domingo after the defeat in the third T20I against New Zealand on Sunday where the South African informed Mushfiqur's probable unwillingness to keep behind the stumps in the shortest format anymore.

Interestingly, no one seems to be completely sure of whether Mahmudullah would undo his decision of retiring from Test cricket or whether Tamim would come back in the Tigers' World Cup squad despite his announcement.

Mushfiqur's issue was the latest where Domingo, before the start of the New Zealand series, came up with an unorthodox strategy of splitting the wicket-keeping duties between Mushfiqur and Nurul Hasan for the first four games in order to assess the wicket-keeping role for the Tigers.

All eyes were on the experienced Mushfiqur in the third T20I but it was Nurul who ended up keeping wickets for the Tigers and that raised many eyebrows.

For someone like Mushfiqur who had already served Bangladesh for more than a decade and now, the pressure of proving himself again as a wicket-keeper and that too after an announcement by the head coach himself, surely does not transmit the right message to the players.

With less than a month to go for the mega event, it seems that Bangladesh is yet to be clear on one of the most important aspects of who is going to be the first-choice wicket-keeper in the squad. There may be quite a few options when it comes to wicket-keeping but if it is Nurul whom the team management prefers as the leading choice, then it is important to show proper faith in him.

The way Domingo is tackling the transition period of the senior players could actually reflect the restlessness within the dressing room and the Tigers head coach really needs to show some clarity behind his decisions in order to provide assurance to the players heading into the World Cup.