He took guard for the most successful Bangladesh captain, Habibul Bashar, while talking to the media at the Zia International Airport yesterday on arrival of the team from the World Cup.

"Habib (Habibul Bashar) deserves a little bit more than the way he has been treated now," responded Faruque, who also accompanied the team as technical manager, when he was asked to comment on the board's latest views on one-day team selection.

The board had said that their decision would depend on whether the selectors pick Bashar or not.

"For the last three years, Bashar has led the team well and I must say that as a captain he is successful. So it is not a question whether we pick him or not rather he can expect more than that," he added.

"I believe that it is not good to bring too many changes in the team after a good tour. So it would be unwise to unstable the team right at the moment. We should understand one thing that we are going through a very crucial transition period as a team, so there is no scope to take decision on whims," he elaborated.

Questions have been asked about the fate of Bashar's one-day career following his poor batting in the World Cup but his contribution as a skipper for last few years will speak for himself.

The 34-year old Bashar has won 29 ODIs in 67 appearances as captain apart from scoring 1349 runs.

It was Bashar who actually steadied the fragile middle order batting for the last few years and because of this it would be harsh to make a conclusion only considering the bad-patch in one tournament.

Moreover, it would make little sense to remove him as there is hardly anyone with such experience to take over before a demanding home series against India.

Faruque, however, informed that they have already thought about the squad for the coming series.

"We will meet within two days to take the final decision because the team will be announced on May 30," he said adding that they will consider experience and current form for the Test squad.

The former national skipper heaped praises on Mohammad Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahim for their impressive showings in the World Cup.

"I must say there was nothing extraordinary in Mushfiqur's performance but he served our purpose. We should be patient with the young stumper because he has a bright future," he said.

"I have seen a lot of positive things in Ashraful's batting. He has changed lot and I am hopeful that he has much to contribute in the future. Still, we need consistency in the team performance," he added.