BCB appoints Habibul Bashar as chairman of new four-member selection panel for 2027 World Cup

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has appointed former national captain Habibul Bashar as chairman of a newly formed four-member selection panel. The panel will remain in place until the Bangladesh squad is finalised for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027, scheduled to be held in Africa in October-November 2027.

Bashar will lead the revamped selection panel, which has been expanded to four members from the previous three, a development confirmed by the BCB in an official press release. Bashar, who captained Bangladesh in 18 Tests and 69 ODIs, served as a men’s selector for eleven years from 2013 before heading the women’s selection panel for one year.

“Bashar, 53, brings a wealth of experience to the role, having previously served as a national selector for both the Bangladesh men’s and women’s teams. A prolific batsman in his playing days, Bashar holds the distinction of being the first Bangladeshi to surpass 3000 runs in Test cricket and remains one of the country’s most respected cricketing figures. Joining Bashar on the panel is former Bangladesh pacer Hasibul Hossain, who was part of the previous selection panel under Gazi Ashraf Hossain since September 2025,” the statement read as quoted by Cricbuzz.

“The panel will also include Naeem Islam and Nadif Chowdhury. Naeem, 39, enjoyed a prolific two-decade playing career, scoring over 20,000 runs across formats. He currently holds the national record for the most first-class centuries by a Bangladeshi with 34 hundreds to his name. Nadif Chowdhury, 38, also brings extensive playing experience spanning 20 years that includes appearance in T20 internationals for Bangladesh. Following his retirement, he has been actively involved in talent development, serving as an Age Group Selector under the BCB,” it added.

Naeem, who played eight Tests and 59 ODIs, has not announced his retirement from domestic cricket, where he remains one of the leading run-scorers. He has amassed 11,253 runs in first-class cricket, including 34 centuries. Nadif, another domestic stalwart who featured in three T20Is for Bangladesh, became an age-group selector last year.

The BCB restructured the selection panel after former chairman Gazi Ashraf Hossain chose not to renew his contract, which was set to run until February 2026.

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