BCB chairman Nazmul Hassan has assessed Bangladesh’s World Cup squad even as he is aware the last call will be with chief voter Minhajul Abedin. Hassan talked about all the positions in the team, especially the No.1. 7 which is much talked about. Bangladesh recently tended to select six bowlers and relied on Mehidy Hasan Miraz to take the 7th spot.

Hassan has been known for years to have a say in most decisions regarding Bangladeshi cricket. So when he talks about the World Cup team, it becomes an important reference even for national coaches.

Bangladesh are likely to finalize their squad for the World Cup, which will be played in India in October-November 2023, at the Asian Cup, scheduled for September. ODI captain Tamim Iqbal, however, said the team was unlikely to experience too many new faces even during the ODI in Afghanistan in July.

Hassan reckons Bangladesh have strengthened their top six – Tamim, Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan – leaving four players – including the experienced Mahmudullah, who hasn’t featured in any of the recent rounds of Bangladesh against Ireland – to compete by fighting for another possible place in the team for mid-range players.

“If we want to take on five bowlers, we’ll bowl an extra bat,” Hassan said. “(Yasir Ali) Rabbi is currently in the team. The likes of Afif (Hossain), Mahmudullah and Mosaddek (Hossain) are not in the squad but they can be selected at any time. We need an allrounder if we play with five bowlers. In the end I don’t know what Nannu (Abedin) will do, I’m just saying about me.

“There is no guarantee for anyone who will be in the squad that they will play in the XI. Afif and Mahmudullah could be in the squad for their striker. Yasir hasn’t done much since returning from injury. Afif and Mosaddek excel at bowling, as does Mahmudullah. Afif is the best winger among them (followed by) Mosaddek then by (Mahmudullah) Riyadh.

Hassan also thinks there is room in the team to be a backup fly-half. Mohammad Naim and Anamul Haque Bijoy – who have topped the Dhaka Premier League rankings this season – could be in contention for this spot.

“They could opt for a backup fly-half in case of injury,” Hassan said. “They tend to pick three trailblazers for three of Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Ebadot Hossain and Mustafizur (Rahman) to play. They are unlikely to have fewer than five bowlers in a World Cup. They can even take four pioneers in line. They also need additional tailings.

Hassan is confident that the Asian Cup will go ahead as planned, but said he has not heard any communication on whether it will be a multi-site tournament or if it will be held in a single country . Strained relations between India and Pakistan – which will host the tournament – have led to a stalemate over where it will be played. In fact, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had proposed a hybrid model with the United Arab Emirates hosting all of India’s matches and Pakistan hosting the remaining matches, but Sri Lanka and Bangladesh did not support this model. .

“I haven’t heard anything from the ACC (Asian Cricket Council) regarding the Asian Cup. But it will happen,” Hassan said. “It’s hard to say where it is. I know there are two options. First, it could be a hybrid model, to be held in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. The second is that it could be held in one country, most likely Sri Lanka. They offered it to Bangladesh but we refused because it was raining at the time.”