Salma Khatum becomes first woman in Bangladesh women's selection panel

Bangladesh Cricket Board announced on Saturday that they have included former national team captain Salma Khatun in the women's selection panel.

Salma is the first-ever woman cricketer from the country to be appointed to the selection panel that currently comprises Sazzad Ahmed (Chief of Women's Selection panel) and Sojol Chowdhury, who works mainly with the age-group teams.

"We had a short meeting where we made four to five key decisions. One of them was the appointment of Salma Khatun as the first-ever woman selector for our women's national team. She will be working alongside Shipon, who currently serves as the chief selector for the women's side," said Iftekhar Rahman Mithu, chairman of BCB's media committee, on Saturday.

"You all know Salma was named ICC's best bowler and top all-rounder back in 2014-15. She captained Bangladesh from 2008 to 2015 and has been a pillar of women's cricket in the country. I think this is a revolutionary decision by our president, as having someone like Salma involved will provide great support for women's cricket. This is the first time such an appointment has been made in Bangladesh," he added

Meanwhile, Iftekhar announced that they have also included former national pacer Hasibul Hossain Shanto in the men's national selection panel.

A post in the three-member national selection that is headed by Gazi Ashraf Hossain went vacant after Hannan Sarkar decided to step down to concentrate on his coaching career. Former left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak is the other member of the men's selection panel.

"You know there was a vacant spot in the men's selection panel. Hasibul Hossain Shanto has been selected to fill that position. From now on, he will work alongside Abdur Razzak and Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu," said Iftekhar.

"His experience, involvement with the Bangladesh team, and the interview process were all taken into consideration. As you know, there are one or two others working as selectors elsewhere, but Shanto was brought in because he is more experienced. Having played at the top level for Bangladesh for a long time, he was the natural choice for the role," he added.