Bangladesh Cricket Board CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury believes there is a very little chance that the Tigers will be ousted from the running of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. While talking with the media yesterday, the BCB high-up also talked about other issues including the national selection panel and the inaugural Asia Cup Twenty20. Here are the excerpts:
The ranking issue
“I think there is a very slim chance of any other team qualifying for the Champions Trophy, given the current situation. We are at number seven and hope that we will be able to participate in the tournament if there are no major changes.
Pakistan and the West Indies are below us in the ODI rankings at the moment. So there are chances of changes in the rankings table due to the matches between the two sides. But still, I think Bangladesh are in a good position because we are five rating points ahead than the number eight side (West Indies) and I think the chances of us falling behind are very slim.
The calculation of the ICC rankings is complicated but it is also sometimes easy to understand in some cases. The results of the two below-ranked teams have very minute affect on the teams that are higher in the table. So, I think there is nothing much for us to worry about. We are in the safe zone. We have three ODIs in the South Africa series and my personal opinion is to concentrate on those games.
Mathematically however, there is no guarantee. Pakistan are below the West Indies at the moment and they (Pakistan) will have to win a lot of matches if they want to move up the table. So, we will be at risk if Pakistan play really well. Pakistan will have to win all of their matches in order to make a change in the table.”
Chances of arranging an extra series ahead of September 2015
“We have a very tight schedule. Our performance was not this good when the ongoing FTP was drafted. We did not even have the room to approach the other boards for a bilateral series at that point. But still, we managed as many series as possible.
Looking for a back-up is not the only solution. One will also need to look into the availability of the other teams. We are working on that and if needed, we will move ahead.”
National selection panel committee
“The committee will continue as it is. A final decision on this issue will be made in the next board meeting. Until that time, the selectors will be working in their current capacity.
We have been advised at different times to increase the number of selectors but it remained undecided. I think we will have a discussion on that too in the board meeting.”
Bangladesh to host the inaugural Asia Cup T20
“We had an annual conference on June 9. The upcoming Asia Cup will be played in the T20 format because of the [2016 ICC] World T20. The venues are yet to be decided. The events team of the ACC (Asian Cricket Council) is working on this. I think a decision will be made on the venues in the next ACC executive board meeting.”
