The frustrating wait continues for Mosaddek and Nurul

"As long as Mehidy Hasan Miraz is in the squad, Mosaddek simply doesn't have a place."

Bangladesh chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain did not shy away from calling a spade a spade during a nearly half-an-hour press conference on Monday (June 23) while announcing the ODI squad for the upcoming three-match series against Sri Lanka.

The former national captain was on the receiving end for ignoring domestic performers Mossadek Hossain and Nurul Hasan from the squad and his answers were quite baffling, if not anything else. It only indicated that Bangladesh cricket is hit hard by stardom as he insisted that he cannot accommodate Nurul in the ODIs as he needs to prepare the T20 captain Litton Das for the World Cup next year.

"Regarding Sohan (Nurul Hasan) he is certainly under consideration, but due to team balance, we can't accommodate multiple wicketkeepers in the same squad. In the last series, Litton Das was unavailable. As you know, he was going through a rough patch at the time. But Litton has since become our T20I captain, and it's assumed that he will remain in the squad at least until the next T20 World Cup. As selectors, we feel that allowing a player to spend more time in ODIs while in good form is ideal. If Litton can play regularly in that format, it will help him carry over the rhythm and performance into T20s as well," he said.

Litton failed to make the cut in the Champions Trophy squad and Bangladesh haven't played ODIs post that tournament. In the meantime, he did not do anything spectacular to earn his place back in the ODI set-up. Bangladeshi cricketers are often picked on the basis of their performances in the Dhaka Premier League, country's traditional list A tournament, and if that is the case both Nurul and Mossadek played well enough to knock the doors of the selection panel.

Mossadek scored 487 runs at an average of 48.70 and he was also the joint highest wicket-taker of the tournament claiming 30 wickets with his off-spin. Nurul scored 522 runs at an average of 58.00 that included two centuries and two half centuries.

Naim Sheikh made a return in the ODI set-up after scoring heavily in the domestic circuit but both Mossadek and Nurul can claim to be unlucky in this regard as they are directly rivalling two captains for their spots. And if the explanation that was put up by the chief selector is taken into account, then there is very little scope for either of them to return to the national squads anytime soon.

Ashraf, however, gave them hope that all is not lost as they are keeping them in their canvas. "Regarding Mosaddek, he's still in our plans. You know that even last August, he was part of the squad - we had him with the 'A' team during the tour of Pakistan. While he may have missed some regular training last year, he's participating quite actively this year.

"He's still very much in our larger canvas, maybe not in the front line at the moment, but he's always kept ready. And he will get opportunities so that when the team needs him, he can step in and contribute effectively," Ashraf said regarding Mossadek.

"At the moment, Nurul Hasan Sohan is certainly in our minds. He is a very effective player-especially in the No. 6 and 7 positions. I believe we will see him again in the near future. To assess any player's potential role, we have a few key opportunities ahead: the Sri Lanka series before the Asia Cup, then the home series against Pakistan, followed by matches against India. Those matches will give us a good look at how players are shaping up. So, we will try to assess everyone possible.

"I believe he(Nurul) is at the peak of both his form and experience. And in the near future, I hope that we won't just be considering him as someone to include in the squad - rather, we want him to be in the starting eleven. Once we select the squad, our role as selectors essentially ends. After that, it's up to the team management and captain to make the final decisions," he said.

Whether these vague statements will inspire them after hearing they cannot be considered as they are breathing at the shoulders of stars remains to be seen. But the selection panel certainly hasn't set a good example by sidelining domestic performances in favour of star names.