Daily Bangla Times: Taijul Islam's inclusion in the ODI squad for the series against England had raised a few eyebrows as Nasum Ahmed, who has featured regularly in the T20 format, was excluded from the setup. 

During an interview, Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan Papon revealed that it was indeed ODI captain Tamim Iqbal's call to include Taijul in the squad.

In today's press conference, Tamim had to field questions regarding his relationship with all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan after the BCB president had said in another interview that the duo are not on good terms and do not speak to each other. 

"I was prepared since yesterday [regarding fielding so many questions related to his relationship with Shakib]. I have never seen so many journalists in one room. I knew these questions would come. It would have been very easy for me to say 'no comments', and 'let's move forward', but I think it was important to give my message to the journalists and fans. The most important thing is how we play on the field. This is why I was happy to answer," he said.

Amidst talk of an unhealthy environment in the dressing room, Tamim said that he has not faced such divisions or 'groupings' in the dressing room but he pointed at a different kind of 'unhealthy' discourse which is when discussions related to team selection come out in the open. 

The BCB president said in an interview that he had asked about Nasum's exclusion from the ODI squad and he got to know that it was due to the skipper's request to have Taijul in the squad instead of Nasum. "When I asked why Nasum wasn't there, I was told that the captain wanted Taijul," he was quoted as saying.

Tamim did not take the matter lightly when asked what he felt about that information which was intended to stay behind closed doors reaching the media.

"When we select a team, there are a lot of closed-door discussions where I agree and disagree on many things but it is a team effort between the selectors, coach and myself. I won't point a finger at others. We fail and succeed together. It is not very healthy for anything to come out of there," he said.

"But you are talking about one individual player and I was very surprised he was not picked in the India series. He [Taijul] took eight wickets in the last three games. My mantra as captain is to always back performances. Nasum has done well in his limited opportunities in ODIs, but we think Taijul would be more suited to this series. If I was picking Tamim Iqbal XI, I would pick people who I liked. But I am the captain of the Bangladesh national team, so it should not matter. I will back those who are performing," he concluded.