Is the Definition of an Off Form Player changing for Bangladesh?

[fwullah]

I think that the definition of an off form player is changing among the BCB people (selectors / team management / ....) and among us - fans.

When somebody consistently scores 20s or 30s, we usually consider them to be in-form players. It is true in case of most Bangladeshi batsman where their average batting average is around 22.00.

But this time around, we've seen that Hannan Sarkar, whose individual scores are 59, a single figure score, 28 and 4 in the test series against England, and then 30, 0 and 20, he is selected in the BD 'A' tour of Pakistan squad citing the reason for being an "off form" player. Mushfiqur Rahman Babu, who is certainly a player in form, is also included in the squad, but I've seen Hannan Sarkar's name on 2 occassions at least where I've seen Hannan Sarkar is called to be an off-form player, even after scores such as those mentioned above.

And most importantly, nobody is complaining. Now I don't know if this little point has caught my eyes because Hannan Sarkar is one of my favorite players, but doesn't the whole saga mean that the definition of a form player is changing in our minds and in our hearts - slowly?

If it is, then I must term it as a progress for Bangladesh Cricket. We are (or is it 'were'?) in a time when scoring a fifty means a player's place is permanent for the next match or the next series in the Bangladesh National Team.

Scoring a fifty means that a player does not have to score any more runs in the whole series unless its the last match of the series to keep a place in the side.

Scoring a fifty means the fans and the sports reporters will remember his name when or if he is dropped in the next match or in the next series. And they will try to point this out that a certain player is not out of form.

Ofcourse, scoring a fifty in terms of International cricket means "job half done". But since a century, either in Test or in ODI cricket is something that is a "God-Like-Effort" among Bangladeshi players in the International arena, scoring a fifty might sound like all the things said in the earlier paragraphs.

Back to the Hannan Sarkar off form player topic - Hannan has scored 1 fifty in the 1st test, 1st innings. So it should have been enough to point it out to the selectors that he is, a player in form.

But why on earth is he selected especially for the reason of being an off-form player?

In addition, players like Rajin Saleh, Habibul Bashar has some good scores (20s and 30s) in both ODIs and Tests, which means that they are not really out of form players. And yet, they are now remembered as "out of form" players?

[Pundit]

Wisden might have a book on "form" definition ? But ofcourse, this is a subjective issue, and only the BCB selectors can be the final arbitor ? Besides, accompanying the A-team does not have to follow any under-lying logic, or atleast one that is obvious to us.

Let it go, FW ! Such microscopic level scrutiny surely is bound to leave you dissapointed, always !

[Hasib]

An infrom batsman should score somting like at least 1 century every series and a half century every match. by the way this is for batsmen only... not allrounders.

[fwullah]

An infrom batsman should score somting like at least 1 century every series and a half century every match

Then I must say that we've never had an in-form player in all the times Bangladesh have been playing One Day International Cricket or most times in Test Cricket.