Bangladesh chief selector Ashraf willing to have open line of communication with team management

Ashraf believes that it is important to establish a good relationship in time. His remarks address such concerns as his predecessor Minhajul Abedin and his selection committee allegedly had allowed the head coach and senior Bangladesh Cricket Coard (BCB) officials to influence his decision.

"I don't want to talk about the previous process. I have spoken to the board. There will be independence in this role. Captain [Najmul Hossain Shanto] and coach [Chandika Hathurusingha] will be involved in the discussion. We will try to stick to global standards," Ashraf said as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

"I will interact with the players. I know most of the players. I don't know most of the new players. I will try to meet them, speak to them. We will need to establish a relationship in time. I believe there's a lot of enjoyment in working freely. Both ways, whether going in or out, are open," Ashraf added.

Ashraf a former Bangladesh captain as well as a former BCB director wants to have backup players ready for the team while reflecting on the fact the number of changes the team made in the batting order during last year's World Cup.

"We will definitely select teams according to opposition and conditions, but I also want to use data for our work. I want to keep an eye on load-management and injury-management and consider players' age. A player must go at some point, so we have to ensure a clear pathway. I have observed that some players travel with the team, but they don't get to play. We have to monitor those players and find out why they didn't get to play," Ashraf said.

"We will form the best eleven or twelve, and then have three more players. I want to have a clear concept about the batting order with my captain and coach. We have seen a lot of ups and downs in some places. If a player is not successful, we must have another player ready to take his place. We want players to be active in domestic cricket too," he added.

Ashraf went on to assert that he was ready to face the backlash that his post brought along with it as he faced a lot of abuses from the crowd that were hurled towards him.

"Minhajul Abedin Nannu and Habibul Bashar congratulated me immediately after I was appointed in this role. When I played domestic cricket with Nannu, we played in front of big crowds. We were abused either way; either by our own fans when we lost, or by opposition fans when we won. Cricket is all about pressure, from opposition bowling, run target, media, etc. If we have a clear conscious, it will be okay," Ashraf said. (ANI)