Salma Khatun named first woman on Bangladesh women’s selection panel

Dhaka, 21 September 2025:

The Bangladesh Cricket Board on Saturday appointed former national team captain Salma Khatun to its women’s selection panel, making her the first woman to hold the role.

Salma, who captained Bangladesh from 2008 to 2015, will join chief selector Sazzad Ahmed and Sojol Chowdhury, who mainly works with age-group players.

“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,” BCB media committee chairman Iftekhar Rahman Mithu said. “She will be working alongside Shipon, who currently serves as the chief selector.”

Salma was recognised by the ICC as the world’s top bowler and all-rounder in 2014-15. “She has been a pillar of women’s cricket in Bangladesh,” Mithu said. “This is a revolutionary decision by our president, as having someone like Salma involved will provide great support for women’s cricket.”

In a separate move, former national pacer Hasibul Hossain Shanto was named to the men’s national selection panel. He fills the vacancy left by Hannan Sarkar, who stepped down to pursue a coaching career.

Hasibul joins chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain and former left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak on the three-member panel.

“His experience, involvement with the Bangladesh team, and the interview process were all taken into consideration,” Mithu said. “Having played at the top level for Bangladesh for a long time, he was the natural choice for the role.”