On Tuesday, February 20, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) formally confirmed Habibul Bashar’s appointment as the head of women’s cricket. Bashar was the captain of the national side in the past. Before the national selection panel was recently dissolved, Bashar served on it from 2016 to 2024.
The right-handed batter served on the selection committee for the women’s national team prior to this assignment. Nadel Chowdhury, the chairman of the women’s wing, presided over a meeting on Tuesday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka where Bashar received the new position.
“We have spoken about how women’s cricket should proceed in the days ahead. Habibul Bashar’s appointment as the department head is, in my opinion, a major advantage for the women’s wing. According to Cricbuzz, Nadel told reporters in Dhaka on Tuesday, “And I think it’s a big opportunity for him.”
“As an in-charge he will do the planning while David Moore (BCB program head) will do the corresponding with different boards as well as ICC, and under the leadership of Habibul the operations of the women’s cricket will take place,” he said.
I decided to take the position because of the women’s team’s recent performance: Habibul Bashar
Bashar, 51, stated that he decided to sign on the dotted line and accept the position as a result of the Bangladesh women’s team’s recent performances.
In the first-ever ODI cricket match, Bangladesh triumphed against South Africa and India last year. In the T20I format, the Bangladesh Tigers also triumphed spectacularly over South Africa and India. After defeating Pakistan by five wickets, Bangladesh claimed the bronze medal in the Asian Games.
In this field, there is room for employment. Without a doubt, the women’s team’s recent performance motivated me to accept the position,” Habibul stated, adding that his current top goal is school cricket for girls.
“Given that there are now so few female cricket players, I believe that allowing women to play the sport in schools would be a significant advancement. To help other school officials understand the value of women’s cricket, I would like to visit different schools and attempt to promote it. I would also like to bring people with me, such as current cricket players,” he said.
Additionally, BCB is debating the creation of a women’s franchise league. According to Bashar, the league would greatly aid in the players’ development.
“I would like to participate in as many games as I can, and franchise cricket will be beneficial if it happens, but we also need to prioritize women’s cricket because there isn’t enough attention given to it at the moment. I believe that if franchise cricket is played, women’s cricket will receive more attention. He added that he wanted to introduce scholarships for women’s cricket. “The more matches we play, the better, because it will create opportunities for everyone,” he stated.
“I am happy to have David with me and now we will see that we can have scholarships like the way we had for men’s cricket when we send some cricketers outside the country for better training so that they can develop and perform and have many such plans like this,” said Bashar.