During the COVID-19 pandemic ICC full members and associate members prepared their teams in whatever ways possible for bilateral and international tournaments. For lack of vision and foresight of BCB Bangladesh is the least prepared of all the teams.
Before the onset of Pandemic Bangladesh suffered humiliation against Pakistan and India in test cricket. Even rookie Afghanistan rocked them in Chittagong. The downward trend started since the ICC world cup 2019. Unfortunately, BCB did not make any postmortem. BCB cares less about developing a competitive Bangladesh Cricket team in any format. Bangladesh ICC test ranking dipped to rock bottom. The possibility of getting demoted to tier two in test cricket started looming.
All other teams even during pandemic took various initiatives in keeping their teams in good shapes arranging domestic and international cricket observing strict bio bubble. BCB hibernated when in Bangladesh Industries kept their operation, government offices were open, life progressed almost as business as usual Bangladesh. After wasting months and failing to avail opportunities of a generous offer by Sri Lankan Cricket board for bilateral series in August BCB preparing in September at BKSP. They could have done this very well at least in July. BCB should have concentrated on longer-term cricket in an effort to prepare the test cricket for international engagement.
While hundreds of cricket players were suffering from losing their way of earnings BCB organized a ODI tournament – BCB Presidents cup putting oil on oily heads. We are unsure that the tournament helped Bangladesh cricket much apart from exposing the weakness of Bangladesh batsmen on sporting wickets. Now with West Indies tour of Bangladesh not too far BCB instead of longer version cricket is going to organize a 5 team T20 tournament in the shape of BPL. We are not sure how this tournament would help preparing Bangladesh for the test series against West Indies and few other test series those Bangladesh would have to play in 2021.
We have seen that how franchise cricket induces Bangladeshis even in villages indulging in gambling. BCB organized ensuing T20 tournament won’t be different. CASINO lovers do not need visiting CASINOs for gambling as has been in many matches of the just completed high voltage IPL 2020.
Nowhere in the cricket world these days outdated Beep Test for assessing fitness cricket players. Bangladesh did it. There also confusion has been created in novice player in the test of Bangladesh Icon Shakib Al Hasan. Unlike others Shakib just returned to formal cricket after serving one-year suspended sanction of ICC for not informing authority of his dialogues with bookies. Fitness cannot be an issue for Shakib. He will gain as he goes alone. But why was the hide and seek? Is not it ridiculous?
Another development appeared indecent to us. Mohammad Ashraful is one of the all-time great Bangladesh cricket and a former captain. Inform Ashraful still has three to four years active cricket left in him. How can he be categorized at D grade when many less quality novice players are graded at B and C. Is there any accountability left in BCB?
We must say that Bangladesh in 2020 would remain the least prepared cricket team. This may create embarrassing situation for Bangladesh cricket in bilateral series and international tournaments. Bangladesh should have planned revamping domestic cricket infrastructure, plan for creating indoor practice facilities in at least two more venues in Dhaka and at every divisional headquarters for preparing young cricketers and age group cricketers. Cricketers like Shahriar Nafis, Mohammad Ashraful, Abdur Razzak; Naeem Islam did not get any opportunity for practice at BCB academy facilities during the pandemic.
We hope before extensive damage to Bangladesh cricket is done BCB policy makers would think deep and act proactively. In present circumstances Bangladesh would struggle competing against any team in any format as all others are much better prepared.
BDST: 1147 HRS, NOV 12, 2020
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