No nepotism, assures new BD chief selector

MUMBAI - Akram Khan, the Bangladesh's 42-year-old new chief selector, had read the reports of India's K Srikkanth favouring his out-of-form son, Aniruddha, for the Emerging Players Tournament (EPT) selection. He, however, said, "I chaired the recent selection committee (his first as a chairman) meeting with an open mind, when my own nephew's name (Tamim Iqbal) came up for discussion". "Tamim was an automatic choice. He scored made his mark at the international level and proved his mettle by scoring so much runs, could not have been ignored", he said over telephone from Dhaka. In fact, Tamim has been chosen as a deputy to Shakib-al-Hasan team for the away series against Zimbabwe. "In Bangladesh, the captain and vice captain are being named by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), with selectors' input sometimes", he added. Interestingly, Tamim Iqbal's brother, Nafees Iqbal has also played for Bangladesh. "Tamim will be dropped on the day when we find he is not in form and not required by the team", Akram Khan insisted. "National interest comes first to my mind rather than family favourism". Dr Ali Bacher, the former South Africa cricket board official believes that the selector should continue to perform his duty honestly even when his family member is in contention for a berth in the team. "The issue is very simple: No former cricketer of stature should be prejudiced or prevented from serving on a selection committee because a member of his family is now in contention for a place in that team. In fact the expertise and experiences of the former cricketer should assist enormously in the debate about the composition of the team that is to be selected", he said from Johannesburg. He, however, added: "Two policies need to be adopted. (1) Where the member of the family is not a certainty for the team or is a possible borderline selection the former cricketer should excuse himself from the room and the debate whether a member of his family should be selected for that team". "In the early eighties I was Convenor of the Transvaal Selection Committee and at a one selection meeting where two of my nephews were vying for No 1 batting position. I left the meeting and when I returned I asked and was told which one had been selected. Nobody ever accused me of nepotism", Dr Bacher added. (2) Peter Pollock was Convenor of our National Selection Committee during the nineties and did a pretty good job. His son, Shaun, made his debut in the mid nineties. He was an automatic choice and therefore there was no need for Peter to leave the room when Shauns name came up for discussion. Nobody ever accused Peter of nepotism", Dr. Bacher concluded.