The Story
Left-handed batsman Mominul Haque has made a comeback to the Bangladesh Test side after he was included in the 14-man squad which will challenge visitors Australia starting from August 27 at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur.
His inclusion was possible after Mosaddek Hossain was ruled out of the series opener in Dhaka with an eye infection.
The 25-year-old was removed from the side after a underwhelming performance in his most recent assignment Sri Lanka where he could manage scores of seven and five at Galle. In the following game at the P. Sara Oval, Imrul Kayes was recalled in place of Mominul. Bangladesh went on to win by four wickets.
End of Criticism For Selectors and Coach Hathurasinghe
The decision to axe him faced criticism, as the left-hander is touted as the most technically sound batsman of his country.
“Bangladesh cricket is not all about Mominul,” Hathurasinghe had said, explaining the decision. “Selection is done by consistency. Some of the guys were dropped for our last Test. I won’t mention the name because the team is more important.”
Haque’s return now will probably end the bad reputation which coach Hathurasinghe and the selection committee attracted after his omission which was termed as an injustice to the cricketer.
The outcry seemed to have made an impact immediately, as Nazmul Hasan, BCB president, called the selectors Minhajul Abedin and Habibul Bashar and head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe [also member of the selection panel] for an explanation.
“It was disappointing not to have Mominul in the Test squad,” Nazmul told reporters after the discussions. “There is no doubt that he one of our best batsmen. When he was dropped from the ODI and T20 we wanted him to concentrate more on Test matches. We consider him as our Test specialist.
“He is not someone who should be dropped because we believe he has a big Test career ahead and would justify his place in future. I don’t think that no one should think about his future because we will make sure of that,” he added.
Nazmul felt that the entire controversy would not have occurred if Haque was named a 15-member squad.
“It looks odd not to have Mominul in the squad,” he said. “I don’t see any problem of keeping him in the squad. They could just make it a 15-member squad instead of a 14-member squad. Every cricket lover felt bad about it and why should we do such a thing that would create such a repercussion,” he said.
He also added that coach Hathurasinghe will counsel Haque about his role in the team.
“I asked them [selectors] why he was dropped and it looked he became a victim of circumstances for the series or the first Test match.
“I will talk with him while the coach will also talk with him so there is no reason he should be sad.”.
Squad for 1st Test:
Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk & c), Shakib Al Hasan, Imrul Kayes, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Sabbir Rahman, Mominul Haque, Nasir Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman.