The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said on Tuesday that they have appointed former national skipper and former national selector Habibul Bashar as head of their women’s cricket.

Habibul, who worked as the member of the national selection panel from 2016 to 2024 until it was dissolved recently, took over the responsibility at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Tuesday during a meeting of the women’s wing headed by its chairman Nadel Chowdhury.   

“We have discussed how to go forward in the coming days with women’s cricket,” Nadel told reporters after the meeting on Tuesday.

“I think it’s a huge plus point for the women’s wing to have someone like Habibul Bashar as the head of their department. I think it’s also a big opportunity for him,” he added.

“As an in-charge he (Habibul) will do the planning while David Moore (BCB program head) will do the corresponding with different boards as well as ICC and under the leadership of Habibul the operation of the women’s cricket will take place,” he further added.

Habibul told the Daily Sun that he is excited to take up the new position while adding that the recent success of women’s cricket played a big part behind taking up the job.

“There is a scope to work in this field. Certainly, the recent result of the women’s team inspired me to take up the job,” said Habibul adding that his priority lies in school cricket at the moment for girls.

“I think if we can have school cricket for women it will be a huge step forward considering now-a-days only few women cricketers are playing the game. I would like to go to different schools and try to promote women’s cricket and take others like current cricketers with me to help different school authorities understand the importance of women’s cricket,” he added.

BCB is planning to have franchise cricket for women’s in the coming days and Habibul believed it will be a huge boost for the women’s cricket if the board eventually manage to introduce T20 tournaments for women cricketers.

“I would like to play as many matches as possible and if franchise-cricket takes place it will certainly be helpful but along the way we also need to put focus on women’s cricket because here the focus is very limited,” said the former national skipper.

“I think if franchise cricket takes place the focus will increase on women’s cricket.  The more matches we play the better because it will create opportunities for everyone,” he said adding that he is eyeing to have scholarships for women’s cricket.

“I am happy to have David (BCB program head) with me and now will see we can have scholarships like the way we had for men’s cricket when we send some cricketers outside the country for better training so that they can develop and perform and have many such plans like this,” he concluded.