BanglaCricket Article

The three major players dropped from the tour of Pakistan are Mohammad Ashraful, Sanwar Hossain and Monjurul Islam. Mohammad Ashraful's name in the dropping list is a very predictable one, although it may not be a correct decision. But if anyone from the eleven certain players had to leave, it had to be Ashraful. Sanwar Hossain is the second player in the dropped list. He has never been able to make himself a permanent member of the team. But I think that his exclusion from the team has to do a lot with his 'suspect bowling action' in the tour of Australia rather than anything else. He has scored a few runs, never being a consistent performer, but his bowling had always kept him in the side. When he was called for his suspect bowling action during the tour of Australia, it must have done something to him, for which reason he could not bowl properly in the first one day match in Pakistan. This had probably prompted the selectors to drop him from the squad.

Monjurul Islam is one surprising name that has been out of the preliminary team. Normally, he is a hard worker and although not fast, he is quite an accurate seamer in One Dayers. I guess four years of International Cricket has taken a lot out of him. One point here is that although Monjurul Islam is left out from the preliminary list as well as from the BCB contract, Hasibul Hussain is still in the team, who is not known for his fast and yet inaccurate bowling.

The other new players in the primary squad are batsman Moniruzzaman, off spinner Fahim Muntasir, wicket keeper Mohammad Selim and leg spinner Mosaddek Hossain.

The inclusion of Fahim Muntasir and Mosaddek Hossain are justified as the wickets of Bangladesh are going to be turning wickets more suitable for spinners. Anwar Hossain can be in the team for a back-up bowler to Mashrafee Bin Murtoza and Tapash Baisya during the test series. But there are some doubts as to whether pacers like Alamgir Kabir, Tareq Aziz Khan would get too many chances to play for Bangladesh again, especially in England's tour of Bangladesh.

It was hoped that Shahriar Hossain would get the selector's nod to play for Bangladesh again after a good domestic season's play, but not including him in the preliminary squad has the Bangladesh team management in a dire situation again. Although there is a specialist opener in the side in the guise of Moniruzzaman, but there are doubts as to how much he can do to solve Bangladesh's problems in the top order, especially in the one day matches. It seems that Habibul Bashar is still the number one choice for the second opener in the team. How good that decision is, only time can tell.