Bishwajit Roy
The national selectors broke from recent convention by picking a specialist off-spinner, Shohag Gazi, after a long time in the 14-member squad for the first Test against the West Indies. The squad, announced by chief selector Akram Khan yesterday, also had space for another newcomer in pace bowler Abul Hasan, and left-handed batsman Junaed Siddiqui who last played a Test in June 2010 against England.
The 21-year old off-spinner from Patuakhali hogged all the spotlight when Akram announced the squad in an official press conference at Mirpur yesterday. In another welcome break from tradition, it was the first time that his panel announced the team -- previously the team had to be sent for approval to the board, which then made the announcement.
There have long been calls for a genuine off-spinner in the team to balance the presence of the left-arm spinners. The last time a specialist off-spinner played a Test for the Tigers was in 2002 when Fahim Muntasir played against Sri Lanka in Colombo. . . .
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