A good selector has to have an eye for talent: Hannan Sarkar

After their spectacular World Cup flop last year, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) opted for a new think tank and as part of that, former opening batter Hannan Sarkar joined the national selection panel headed by Gazi Ashraf Hossain. 
Hannan, who played 37 international matches for Bangladesh, worked for nearly a decade as an Under-19 selector and Bangladesh won their first global trophy in the form of the Under-19 World Cup in 2020 during his tenure.

The Business Standard (TBS) spoke to Hannan in an exclusive chat about his new role as a national selector. 

What was the first thing that you wanted to do as a national selector? 
For me, winning a global tournament is something we have been eyeing for a long time. I was able to contribute to a World Cup victory at the U-19 level as a selector. Now I want to repeat the feat for the senior team.

What are the basic criteria you look at while selecting players?
The main target for us is to ensure that the team wins. Also, we keep in mind that we have to assemble a group that can perform for a longer period of time. Next up, we will play the T20 World Cup in June and the Champions Trophy next year. That's why we are looking at a few options right now and we want to fix [the team] before those tournaments arrive. 

For example, we want to finalise the team for the T20 World Cup by the Zimbabwe series and have a fixed ODI squad six months before the Champions Trophy. We are, of course, going through a bit of a transition phase right now and it's time to make some tough decisions on the senior players. It's part of a long-term plan and we the selectors will look to do that successfully. 

How much do the performances of players in domestic cricket matter?

Of course. There are a few steps we follow while selecting players. We try to make the players ready for international cricket in HP [High Performance] and A teams. There we monitor their progress in HP and A series and tours. To make the cut in HP and A sides, one has to perform in domestic cricket. But then again, many have performed in domestic cricket but failed to emulate that on the big stage. The responsibility of a selector is to identify the players who can do well in international cricket. Everyone sees with the naked eye who is performing but a good selector has to have an inner eye to recognise the players who can serve the team for a long time. 

There are players like Rishad Hossain who don't get enough game time in domestic cricket. How are you going to take care of these players?

This happens mostly with leg-spinners. It is an area we are struggling with. Teams in domestic cricket are sometimes afraid of making experiments and playing leg-spinners. For leg-spinners, there has to be a platform to gain the trust of the teams. In HP and A series, we don't have to worry about all those things and so we give them the much-needed exposure there. In the last few games for these teams, Rishad has done well. And now, he is playing in the Dhaka Premier League quite regularly. 

Apart from the selectors, who else can give inputs while selecting a squad?

We can take opinions from anyone but at the end of the day, we - Gazi Ashraf Hossain, Abdur Razzak and I - select the team. The head coach and the captain inform us of their observations and demands and we also consult them. For example, the coach and the captain select the best XI but we are also involved there because they want us to be part of it. It's a matter of mutual understanding.  

We all have seen what happened between two senior players - Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal. What can the management do to prevent such issues from affecting the team's performance? 

I think the senior players have to take responsibility themselves. There will be reasons why they can't play all the matches. I think smooth communication between the board and the players is important. If there is no communication gap, I think it's possible to run things without any difficulties.