Abahani won the title in the latest season of the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League (DPL), with Mosaddek Hossain Saikat at the helm. A true son of the Abahani camp, Mosaddek not only led the team but also performed brilliantly with both bat and ball, earning the Player of the Tournament award.
Despite such a stellar campaign in one of the top List-A competitions, Mosaddek was left out of the 16-member Bangladesh ODI squad announced Monday morning for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka. This has sparked questions over the selectors’ decision to overlook a high-performing all-rounder.
Chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu was blunt in his response: “As long as Mehidy Hasan Miraz is in the team, there’s no chance for Mosaddek.”
Miraz and Mosaddek share a similar playing role — both are batting all-rounders. However, Miraz has gradually developed into a complete all-rounder. Especially considering his consistent contributions in both ODIs and Tests, it becomes difficult for anyone to take his place in the team. Beyond the overlap in playing role, what makes Miraz’s position even more secure is his recent appointment as the ODI captain, replacing Najmul Hossain Shanto.
Still, Mosaddek’s DPL performance is far from negligible. He took a tournament-high 30 wickets and scored 487 runs at an average of 48.47, including three fifties. When asked directly why Mosaddek wasn’t picked despite such numbers, Lipu responded candidly:
“I’ll answer your question directly. From your journalistic perspective, you think he should be playing for the national team right now. I don’t quite agree with that. Let me be clear — as long as Mehidy Hasan Miraz is there, Mosaddek doesn’t have a place.”
That said, the chief selector did not completely rule out a return to the national side for Mosaddek. In fact, he highlighted that the all-rounder remains part of their broader plans:
“Some things should be clearly understood. Sometimes you all pretend not to understand what’s obvious. Let me be straightforward — Mosaddek is with us. Maybe he’s in the mix as a backup. If an opportunity arises, he could be called up. The door is open. He just needs to prove himself. We did play him against New Zealand — we’ve had a look at him.”
Previously, Lipu had also spoken optimistically about Mosaddek’s future in the national setup. He said, “You all know Mosaddek is with us. He was part of the ‘A’ team tour to Pakistan in August last year. Maybe there were issues with his training at the time. But this year, he has been participating actively. He’s in our broader picture — maybe not in the front row, but definitely someone who can make an impact when needed.”
