A veteran journalist remarked right after Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan announced in a press conference that they have appointed Gazi Ashraf Hossain as the chief selector for national cricket team for next two years.
Ashraf's return was quite a surprise as he represented BCB in ICC meetings five to six times between 2007-08, when he was the head of the BCB board in 2013, before Khaled Mahmud won the election against him to win a seat on the board.
After losing the election, he hardly ever visited Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium or for that matter any other venues where competitive cricket took place under BCB's banner and his only connection with cricket was through writing a column in a leading daily and attending talk shows or match analysis on T-Sports, a leading sports channel of Bangladesh.
BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury said that Hossain will not be enjoying the facilities of the chief selector only.
"As he (Hossain) was once in the board (BCB), so considering his experience and social position, he will get some facilities equivalent to the other board directors. But as per the designation, he will be replacing the former chief selector," Nizamuddin was quoted as saying by the leading Bengali Daily on Wednesday.
The BCB directorship is mainly a voluntary service, as they do not get any salary from the board to perform their responsibilities. But if any director goes abroad with any responsibilities of BCB, he gets a daily allowance of USD 500 dollars (including hotel fare), travels fare (possibly business class in flight), gets 25 complimentary tickets in different classes for every match during any domestic and international series and gets an honorarium when he joins in the board meetings.
For other selectors, if they travel abroad with the team, they will get the same daily allowance of USD 75 as like other members of the team while if they (selectors) do not stay with the team, then they get USD 350 dollars (including hotel fare). Hossain meanwhile, will get the same privileges as the directors in these cases, while he can stay abroad maximum of 10 days at BCB's expense if he goes on a foreign trip with any accountability of BCB.
Experts opined that, there is no relation between facilities of board director and selector. As per the constitution, any other individual cannot exercise the facilities of the board director. He can have more facilities by having separate agreement but if someone is enjoying all the facilities of the board director despite not being a board director, then that needs to be included in the constituency.
Several board directors secretly told agencies that they were stunned and flabbergasted with the turn of events at the meeting of the board directors on January 12, considering there was no scope to raise the name of any other different for the post of chief selector.
"I think he( Ashraf) is accountable only to our board president and to some extent Siraj bhai as they are the ones who appointed him earlier and took our approval later," said a BCB director.
"He (Ashraf) will be enjoying a lot of facilities that is enjoyed by the board director apart from the part of pay role structure, but you can certainly not claim that he is just a chief selector," he said, adding that he is not too sure how things the equation will be with head coach Chandika Hathurusingha in the selection panel meeting considering the power Hossain is expected to possess.