Selection changes not good for Mahmud

Khaled Mahmud's future as Bangladesh captain continues to attract many column inches in Bangladesh's newspapers, but for the moment he remains, although there is an increasing feeling that he will be replaced before the tour of Zimbabwe.

Usually the Bangladesh board selects a captain and then names a side, but earlier this month it announced that it would let the selectors pick the squad before naming the captain. The change on policy reflects the thinking of Dav Whatmore, a firm believer in the Australian idea of selecting the skipper from the players.

"We decided to break the convention as a show of respect to the selectors' desire," Reazuddin Al Mamun, chairman of the board's media committee, explained. He also dismissed speculation that the board were about to name separate Test and one-day captains. "The question was raised in the board meeting but not for discussion because we don't believe we have options for such luxury. I can assure you that only one person will lead the team in the coming series."