Murshida Khatun’s surprise inclusion in Bangladesh’s 16-member squad for their historic maiden tour of Australia has created as much discussion off the field as excitement on it. The 27-year-old left-handed opener was reportedly absent from the original 15-member squad prepared by the selection committee, but was later added after Rafiqul Islam Babu, chairman of the BCB women’s wing, pushed for her selection ahead of the three-match ODI series beginning on October 9.
The chairman maintains that her inclusion was based purely on recent performances and not on political pressure. “To be honest, the Asia Cup and Asian Games squad was prepared even before I took charge of the women’s department,” Babu told Cricbuzz. “Later, when the squad for the Australia tour was prepared, I requested that we should pick Murshida because she deserves a chance, as she was our only performer for the Emerging team against South Africa.”
Murshida Khatun’s case is built around a modest but significant body of recent form. During Bangladesh Women’s Emerging Players’ tour of South Africa, she finished as her team’s leading run-scorer, collecting 69 runs at an average of 34.50 and a strike rate of 69. She also made a half-century in three matches and ended the one-day leg as the series’ third-highest run-scorer.
Babu highlighted the importance of that contribution while defending his intervention. “You see, there was only one fifty in the entire South Africa tour; she scored it. She made 61. She was dropped because she performed badly just once in her career and was dropped completely,” he said. “I said to pick her based on her performance. Many others are performing badly, but they haven’t been dropped, and I felt she also deserved a chance.”
The timing of Murshida’s recall, however, has raised eyebrows. She was not included in Bangladesh’s squads for either the ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup or the Asian Games yet received an opportunity for the most demanding assignment in the country’s women’s cricket calendar. Bangladesh, led by Nigar Sultana Joty, were eliminated by India in the first semi-final of the sixth edition of the Asia Cup, suffering a 40-run defeat at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on September 10.
Nigar subsequently announced her decision to step down as Bangladesh’s T20I captain ahead of the Asian Games in Japan. Her final match as skipper came in the bronze-medal playoff against Pakistan, led by Fatima Sana, where Bangladesh lost by 31 runs on September 22.
The leadership transition now coincides with a major overseas challenge. While Babu denied political influence, “It’s not true that there was any political pressure on me to include Murshida in the squad for Australia”, his admission has exposed weaknesses in Bangladesh’s selection process.
Whether Murshida was chosen because of her South Africa performances or because her case required an influential push remains open to debate. What is clear is that the process was far from conventional, leaving the opener with both an opportunity to revive her international career and the burden of proving that her selection belonged on the field.
(Quotes sourced from Cricbuzz)
Loves all things female cricket