Mahmudullah's Test reselection highlights deep-rooted problems with team selection

Mahmudullah, the current T20I skipper of the side, has been added to the squad for the only Test against Zimbabwe, days after the final squads for all formats were announced. According to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), he has been recalled as a backup to Mushfiqur Rahim, who has an injury concern. 

The 35-year old Mahmudullah last played a Test match in February 2020 and was axed from the squad because of a lack of form. He had gone eight innings without a fifty and there were rumours that head coach Russell Domingo wanted him to retire from Tests. 

The message was clear when Mahmudullah was left out of the Test squad against Zimbabwe at home. But chief selector Minhajul Abedin then claimed that Mahmudullah wasn't dropped, rather he was rested. "We have decided that Mahmudullah needs rest. That's why we have given him a break from the Tests. Also, we are keen to look at some new players," said Minhajul at that time.

But that's where the problem began. Mahmudullah was permitted to play the Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL), a four-team longer version tournament. If he really needed a break from red-ball cricket, then why was he allowed to play the BCL?

In September 2020, Mahmudullah was snubbed from the annual red-ball contract, which suggested that the selectors wanted him to concentrate only on white-ball cricket. Since then, the all-rounder has been exclusively playing white-ball formats in international cricket for Bangladesh. 

But that's not the end. In February 2021 when Bangladesh were whitewashed by a second-string West Indies side, an angry BCB president Nazmul Hassan said that he wanted Mahmudullah to replace an injured Shakib Al Hasan. But the selectors called Soumya Sarkar. 

How can the board president want a player in the Test squad suddenly who has constantly been told to focus on limited over formats?

Three months later, Mahmudullah was added to the Test squad as a backup player. But he still remains a player who is focusing solely on white-ball cricket. If a backup player is really needed, then why can someone like Mosaddek Hossain, who is a tremendous red-ball player, not be called up? 

Such inconsistencies with team selection aren't rare in Bangladesh cricket. Yasir Ali Rabbi, the right-handed batter, has featured in the squads for almost all the series since April 2019 but is yet to make his debut. Imrul Kayes, who was called up to the preliminary squad for the Sri Lanka ODIs at home earlier this year, told the local media that the skipper Tamim Iqbal had assured him to play him at number five. But to everyone's surprise, Imrul didn't even feature in the final squad. 

There are many questions regarding the selection process and its inconsistencies. But these questions remain unanswered and as a result, the problems and inconsistencies with selection remain.