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Can Bangladesh make the Big 3 into a Big 4?

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Gubol123

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Looking at the FTP proposed for next 5 years, BCB/BD seems to be doing quite well. They have a good team and their finances seems to be shaping up well. With almost all boards willing to play more with them, BD is bound to do well. I have a feeling in the next decade we will see BD becoming a financial powerhouse for cricket. i hope that happens.. we need more countries bringing their financial strength to cricket..
[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION], @ other BD commenters - how is BCB doing financially? i am assuming they have no shortage of sponsors
 
I think, the answer has two parts.

First part is financials - yes, in that regard, we all can predict a stronger BCB in future, because the market demand is there, economy is growing and more importantly hardly any substitutes. Passion for cricket in Bangladesh is growing and it's expanding to deep rural level now, which brings more people (market) under the umbrella, which eventually should turn into stronger financials muscles.

But, the 2nd part of the equation is the quality of cricket - it has to match the financials, otherwise in the long run public interest won't be there (eventually limiting financial strength). In that regard, I think we have to improve considerably, particularly as tourists, otherwise we'll be back to squire. This FTP indicates the potential of the team & capability of the board, but performance has to match that for a continuation.
 
Bangladesh is already the best in the world. They don't need trophies or meaningful overseas series win. :kp
 
Yes I see Bangladesh in the top 4 in both performance and money wise , but not immediately. It may take another 5 years or so. First need to sort out captaincy and team selection issues.
 
Zerotohero said:
Yes I see Bangladesh in the top 4 in both performance and money wise , but not immediately. It may take another 5 years or so. First need to sort out captaincy and team selection issues.
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i would say in next 10 years. But it will happen
 
Gubol123 said:
Very Funny. it is not like we, (Indians), won lot in early 80s and 90s...
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India won World Cup in 1983, Asia Cup in 1984, Champions Trophy in 1985, beat England in England in tests in 1986.. :ashwin

Didnt do much in 90's though.
 
Not anywhere in the near future.

Untill they start winning and become good enough for Australia and England to invite them.
Big 4 will always be England,Australia,India and Pakistan like in the 1990s..
If PCB was hosting matches in Pakistan her revenues would be among the top 3.
 
Why not?

They have a rapidly growing economy but they need to improve their game at international level.
 
Bleedgreen4ever said:
Not anywhere in the near future.

Untill they start winning and become good enough for Australia and England to invite them.
Big 4 will always be England,Australia,India and Pakistan like in the 1990s..
If PCB was hosting matches in Pakistan her revenues would be among the top 3.
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You mean Aus/Ind/SA/Pak England cannot be mentioned in the same breath with their multiple 5 zip drubbings & shocking performance at ICC events :9:
 
Bleedgreen4ever said:
Not anywhere in the near future.

Untill they start winning and become good enough for Australia and England to invite them.
Big 4 will always be England,Australia,India and Pakistan like in the 1990s..
If PCB was hosting matches in Pakistan her revenues would be among the top 3.
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How about South Africa?
 
Gubol123 said:
Very Funny. it is not like we, (Indians), won lot in early 80s and 90s...
Click to expand...

Oligochaetes said:
India won World Cup in 1983, Asia Cup in 1984, Champions Trophy in 1985, beat England in England in tests in 1986.. :ashwin

Didnt do much in 90's though.
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The lack of knowledge about the Indian team of the last century is really quite amazing. I think Indian posters were traumatized by the Azharudding/Raj Singh Dungarpur 1990s years that they dismissed everything from that century.

India was also ranked #1 in Test cricket from April 1973 to June 1974.
 
Team is too weak.To be a cricket superpower you need other than money ideally both great batsmen and fast bowlers,but atleast one of those.Bangladesh has neither.
 
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Financially yes.

Cricketwise, not anytime soon.

Bangladesh need to focus on consistently being a middle ranked side like Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and NZ. Winning a trophy would be a massive boost. Becoming a 5-6th ranked side in Tests and ODIs and consistently achieving that rank is a more realistic goal and something the current bunch are capable of within the next 5 years.

Goals should be realistic.
 
Financially, the big 4 will always be india England Australia and South africa...BD cannot obviously displace any of them...
 
Oxfordchamp said:
Financially, the big 4 will always be india England Australia and South africa...BD cannot obviously displace any of them...
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South Africa is in big four club for its skills. Financially they are not as sound as the other three in the club. BD or if/when Pak gets it act together they will join that group. as of now BD looks the one to join that group finance wise. Skill wise they will need more time
 
Need to compete away from home. Financially and at board level they seem to be doing well.
 
Please check article on revenues and player salaries..BCb revenue is very less compared to SA...
 
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Hasan123 said:
Need to compete away from home. Financially and at board level they seem to be doing well.
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Agreed.. Skill wise long way to go. Once they start thrashing all teams at home, they will get that self belief which hopefully will make them be competitive. Give them a decade and I am sure they will be right up there in top five in terms of skills

Dark horse is Pak. if PCB gets their act together they can easily be the newest member of club four. But realistically it might take more than a decade for them
 
Gubol123 said:
Very Funny. it is not like we, (Indians), won lot in early 80s and 90s...
Click to expand...

I am Pakistani btw. I have been watching bangla boys since 1999 and it's been almost 20 years and they have nothing to show for it. Pakistan won their first overseas match in England in 1952...
 
Gubol123 said:
South Africa is in big four club for its skills. Financially they are not as sound as the other three in the club. BD or if/when Pak gets it act together they will join that group. as of now BD looks the one to join that group finance wise. Skill wise they will need more time
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BCB latest annual revenue for 2017 is $30 million dollars..and South Africa's is $65 million..so a lot of catching up to do for BD to be among top 4 financially...
 
Gubol123 said:
Agreed.. Skill wise long way to go. Once they start thrashing all teams at home, they will get that self belief which hopefully will make them be competitive. Give them a decade and I am sure they will be right up there in top five in terms of skills

Dark horse is Pak. if PCB gets their act together they can easily be the newest member of club four. But realistically it might take more than a decade for them
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Pakistan need to sort the domestic pitches out and then we will certainly make it a big 4.
 
Lol someone made a similar thread about Pakistan. In your dreams mate. South Africa have a much better chance.
 
Oxfordchamp said:
Please check article on revenues and player salaries..BCb revenue is very less compared to SA...
Click to expand...

That is because BCB has a lot of expenditure considering that we are a developing nation unlike SA. BCB spends a good deal on academies, grassroots.

Global T20 was set to incur massive losses. BPL gave profit of 5 million atleast in the last few seasons.
 
There are 4 stages among test teams

Minnows
Half decent
Decent
Top teams

We were minnows pre-2011 now we are still half decent. The first step is to become decent and then focusing on being top 4/5. I reckon by 2023 WC Bangladesh will be an actual contender for the title(not firm favourites like AUS) but you get the point.

Our domestic competitions are increasing in quality and quantity. It's upto BCB to work hard and focus on several different aspects. We have some talented individuals coming through the ranks.
 
Oxfordchamp said:
BCB latest annual revenue for 2017 is $30 million dollars..and South Africa's is $65 million..so a lot of catching up to do for BD to be among top 4 financially...
Click to expand...

CSA operating costs will be a lot higher. After the Big 3, I think only PCB has a greater income than BCB.
 
Bangladesh will become the second biggest cricket force in Asia. Its just a matter of time, probably ten to fifteen years.
 
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No I don't think so :). I don't see the potential. Pakistan arguably has greater potential financially and talentwise. Pakistan is already well ahead in terms of talent on the field and achievements but they're not able to convert their financial potential due to internal issues. I don't see any Asian board joining the other three in the near future.
 
MMHS said:
I think, the answer has two parts.

First part is financials - yes, in that regard, we all can predict a stronger BCB in future, because the market demand is there, economy is growing and more importantly hardly any substitutes. Passion for cricket in Bangladesh is growing and it's expanding to deep rural level now, which brings more people (market) under the umbrella, which eventually should turn into stronger financials muscles.

But, the 2nd part of the equation is the quality of cricket - it has to match the financials, otherwise in the long run public interest won't be there (eventually limiting financial strength). In that regard, I think we have to improve considerably, particularly as tourists, otherwise we'll be back to squire. This FTP indicates the potential of the team & capability of the board, but performance has to match that for a continuation.
Click to expand...

But our top industrial groups like bashundhara,jamuna,akij,brb,SKS,Nasir,khan,etc. And top pharmaceutical groups never showed their interest to invest in cricket who actually can invest 1000s of crores takas if they want. BCB need to bring our top groups into cricket if it has to be the 4th big financial super power.
 
Financially: I can see it happening
Cricketing wise: Yea, no! Can't win a WC/Big tourney with a 2-3 man team no matter how many bileteral series they end up winning. It's the usual Tamim-Shakib-Mushfiquer that performs. Rest are a one hit wonder type of player.
 
Mr.Q said:
No I don't think so :). I don't see the potential. Pakistan arguably has greater potential financially and talentwise. Pakistan is already well ahead in terms of talent on the field and achievements but they're not able to convert their financial potential due to internal issues. I don't see any Asian board joining the other three in the near future.
Click to expand...

as of today, talent wise there is no doubt that Pak is right up there. But that is not enough to be a powerhouse. Board also needs financial backing, cricket mad public and great home infrastructure to project that soft power. I think BD has more chances of acquiring all that in the next decade. I predict it happening by end of next decade
 
What's the obsession with being Big anything?... just perform on the field and let your game do the talking. We dished out epic beatdown to 2 out of 3 of the big three while we were ranked 8th.
 
Gubol123 said:
South Africa is in big four club for its skills. Financially they are not as sound as the other three in the club. BD or if/when Pak gets it act together they will join that group. as of now BD looks the one to join that group finance wise. Skill wise they will need more time
Click to expand...

What's the revenue of BCB and other 2 boards like CSA and PCB?
 
The term Big 3 or Big 4 is meaningless.

Only use is for fans who get an opportunity to stroke their ego. In reality ICC runs by BCCI's, EBC's and CA's wishes in that particular order. The rest pretty much look to please these three to get the best deal.
 
Nil Dhumrojal said:
But our top industrial groups like bashundhara,jamuna,akij,brb,SKS,Nasir,khan,etc. And top pharmaceutical groups never showed their interest to invest in cricket who actually can invest 1000s of crores takas if they want. BCB need to bring our top groups into cricket if it has to be the 4th big financial super power.
Click to expand...

It takes time - sports has to be a culture.

In Bangladesh, it was the film/tv stars, singers ..... poets & writers were the crowd puller. One reason being we are weak in sports, but the main reason is that our youths had been brainwashed for generations to glorify Rabindranath, Nazrul, Humayun Ahmed ...... (no disrespect to anyone, I am just describing what's the fact), hence in 80s Tv stars like Afzaol or Subarna or Faridi were mega stars (for brand promotion), then even Niaz Murshed, the first Asian GM in chess. That's reality - Monem Munna was hired by J League professional team, Sabbir & Qaiser Hamid for Saudi League - only memory I have is Qaiser had a 5 second shot for Clifton socks!!!!!!!

I can recall one poet (won't name, no disrespect) lost a leg or eye in accident and hundreds of media houses, organizations came for his charity ..... Shah Alam is still the only double sprint winner in SAF Games (actually won 3 golds & 1 silver in 100 & 200) - he died in road accident, on top his pension, Army gave his wife and kids one time grant of 100000 !!!!, and that poor lady almost had to beg to raise two kids.

Ability to write poem or singing Rabindra Sangeet/Nazrul Giti is considered something special compared to taking 10 wickets and scoring 87 against AUS in a Test match ............ first that needs to change. My friend was Director Marketing a Beximco Pharma - they pay (used to, 5/6 years back) annually 1mn to Runa Laila for one hour concert (10 songs, I had been there few times - it starts with Bandhu Tin din, finishes with Dama dum mast qalander ...) for their annual night - they won't sponsor any shooter or swimmer, even through a job .....

The day BD people starts to value that it takes lots of talent, sweat & sun burning to become a top sportsman, those corporates won't pay millions for fake smiles - corporate endorsement is market driven. From entertainment industry, I rate Shakib the greatest Bangladeshi, unfortunately, I am among 0.0000000001%, you go & check, majority will vote for this kid Tashan (again, no disrespect). In India, both Sachin Tendulkar & Lata Mungeskar are Bharat Ratna ..... in Bangladesh Shakib isn't even invited for the Ekushey Padok ceremony; therefore why do you expect corporate houses to risk their money?
 
MMHS said:
It takes time - sports has to be a culture.

In Bangladesh, it was the film/tv stars, singers ..... poets & writers were the crowd puller. One reason being we are weak in sports, but the main reason is that our youths had been brainwashed for generations to glorify Rabindranath, Nazrul, Humayun Ahmed ...... (no disrespect to anyone, I am just describing what's the fact), hence in 80s Tv stars like Afzaol or Subarna or Faridi were mega stars (for brand promotion), then even Niaz Murshed, the first Asian GM in chess. That's reality - Monem Munna was hired by J League professional team, Sabbir & Qaiser Hamid for Saudi League - only memory I have is Qaiser had a 5 second shot for Clifton socks!!!!!!!

I can recall one poet (won't name, no disrespect) lost a leg or eye in accident and hundreds of media houses, organizations came for his charity ..... Shah Alam is still the only double sprint winner in SAF Games (actually won 3 golds & 1 silver in 100 & 200) - he died in road accident, on top his pension, Army gave his wife and kids one time grant of 100000 !!!!, and that poor lady almost had to beg to raise two kids.

Ability to write poem or singing Rabindra Sangeet/Nazrul Giti is considered something special compared to taking 10 wickets and scoring 87 against AUS in a Test match ............ first that needs to change. My friend was Director Marketing a Beximco Pharma - they pay (used to, 5/6 years back) annually 1mn to Runa Laila for one hour concert (10 songs, I had been there few times - it starts with Bandhu Tin din, finishes with Dama dum mast qalander ...) for their annual night - they won't sponsor any shooter or swimmer, even through a job .....

The day BD people starts to value that it takes lots of talent, sweat & sun burning to become a top sportsman, those corporates won't pay millions for fake smiles - corporate endorsement is market driven. From entertainment industry, I rate Shakib the greatest Bangladeshi, unfortunately, I am among 0.0000000001%, you go & check, majority will vote for this kid Tashan (again, no disrespect). In India, both Sachin Tendulkar & Lata Mungeskar are Bharat Ratna ..... in Bangladesh Shakib isn't even invited for the Ekushey Padok ceremony; therefore why do you expect corporate houses to risk their money?
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You make a solid argument but i think the trend is changing. People rate Shakib much higher and we all know much mashrafe is respected.

But it's true in Bangladesh top musicians are paid much more than an athlete. Cricketers are starting to earn well but not other athletes. You can't earn a living even by being a domestic footballer
 
Executioner said:
You make a solid argument but i think the trend is changing. People rate Shakib much higher and we all know much mashrafe is respected.

But it's true in Bangladesh top musicians are paid much more than an athlete. Cricketers are starting to earn well but not other athletes. You can't earn a living even by being a domestic footballer
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I am surprised by that. I was under the impression that Bengal (Both East and West) are very fond of football and footballers are revered and compensated well.
 
Gubol123 said:
I am surprised by that. I was under the impression that Bengal (Both East and West) are very fond of football and footballers are revered and compensated well.
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I think I need to rephrase what I said, you can't earn a good lifestyle by being a domestic footballer or any other athlete for that matter in Bangladesh. Cricket is an exception here. I suppose 99.99% of pro athletes barely earn 1 lakh Bangladesh taka per month on average tops

West Bengal is different altogether. Indian footballers, even those who never represent India but are professionals earn a good amount of money.

India is doing well in that regard. A lot of Indians also go onto represent India in the olympics. Bangladesh? Less said the better. Bangladesh frowns upon the concept of a youth(thats where the real development begins) doing something during the secondary education outside of studying. My parents would make me attend tutorial classes since I was in class 6, and every weekday, even on saturday I would spend 3h in the afternoon studying, a period where you would expect someone to nap, play some sports, or relax some other way after coming from school.

I am sure the culture is quite similar in India and Pakistan but believe me Bangladesh culture is far worse. Which is why we don't really excel in any sport apart from cricket and we likely won't for the next 30-40 years.
 
Football however, is actually pretty popular in Bangladesh. Infact if Bangladesh didn't make it to the big stage of cricket we probably would not have that obsession associated with cricket.

FIFA world cup has crazy following in Bangladesh. Cricket WC only gets one quarter of the hype FIFA WC gets even when you consider that a team from Bangladesh is representing. If Bangladesh never played in CWC and were still an affiliate level team, no one would give two hoots about cricket. I am sure the same applies to India.

As for England and Australia, they have a more sporty culture where they appreciate a lot of sports and not just cricket and football.
 
Gubol123 said:
I am surprised by that. I was under the impression that Bengal (Both East and West) are very fond of football and footballers are revered and compensated well.
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Football is 10 times popular in BD, even now. But, you need your team/club to match that for sustainability.

I put it this way, forget winning against Brazil, Germany, Arnentina or France (Or Real, Barca, Bayern, MCity); forget about making WC quarterfinal ...... just imagine BD & it’s clubs making QF in Asian stage (& qualifies for WC from the weakest conference of FIFA - Asia) ....... you’ll have to use google search to know about BD cricketers, apart from few.
 
Gubol123 said:
Looking at the FTP proposed for next 5 years, BCB/BD seems to be doing quite well. They have a good team and their finances seems to be shaping up well. With almost all boards willing to play more with them, BD is bound to do well. I have a feeling in the next decade we will see BD becoming a financial powerhouse for cricket. i hope that happens.. we need more countries bringing their financial strength to cricket..

[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION], @ other BD commenters - how is BCB doing financially? i am assuming they have no shortage of sponsors
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You mean BD ? Are you serious ? :tahir2
 
Gubol123 said:
as of today, talent wise there is no doubt that Pak is right up there. But that is not enough to be a powerhouse. Board also needs financial backing, cricket mad public and great home infrastructure to project that soft power. I think BD has more chances of acquiring all that in the next decade. I predict it happening by end of next decade
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This was said 10 years ago in 2007 when Bangladesh advanced past the Group Stage in the WC :). One common factor when you talk about the big 3 is that they're top teams. To be a top team, you have to perform consistently. You can't weave big dreams around an inconsistent minnow team. Sorry if I sound rude but Bangladesh just can't have any excuse for their poor performances (barring some purple patches they hit once in a while). And as the BD economy grows step by step, cricket's popularity will go down step by step. The 'crazy' fans will get saner :). You'll also see other sports gaining popularity.

Look at India. Cricket is no longer what it used to be here. It no longer enjoys a monopolistic status or the very large no. of 'crazy' fans. But it's a big country with many venues so it doesn't affect BCCI much (but they're very much aware of this).

So it's not as easy as you think. Without the team improving their performance, I don't see the potential for long term growth. Your economy will definitely grow. But I'm not sure about cricket.
 
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moghul said:
You mean BD ? Are you serious ? :tahir2
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Yes very serious.. not sure what is so incredible about it. They have shown marked improvement in skill (certainly not in the top league yet) and have a good financial base. Their economy is doing great, have a good T20 league going, huge cricket mad fan base, and good first class infrastructure. I am not sure why they cannot improve and be in the top 4/5 in a decade.

There are two more teams who can aspire to be permanent part of Big 4. SA and Pak. SA are already their skill wise and currently have a good financial base too. So they are in the top four today. But they are not growing like other BD (fiance wise)and considering that cricket is a second or third priority for their youth, it will not get the same kind of financial backup as in Asia. On top of that the current quota system will influence some talent opting to make their future somewhere else. Other option Pak is struggling to host their T20 League in their own country. They are also in bitter fight with India thereby strangling their biggest source of income. PSL will grow and become their biggest cash cow, but it will take time and wont realize its potential until it moves back completely to Pakistan. Once cricket is fully back in Pak they will grow financially but that is atleast a decade out in the future before all major teams will tour Pakistan. So BD has ample time to grow their financial base and cricketing skills to break into two 4 or at the least top five.
 
Mr.Q said:
This was said 10 years ago in 2007 when Bangladesh advanced past the Group Stage in the WC :). One common factor when you talk about the big 3 is that they're top teams. To be a top team, you have to perform consistently. You can't weave big dreams around an inconsistent minnow team. Sorry if I sound rude but Bangladesh just can't have any excuse for their poor performances (barring some purple patches they hit once in a while). And as the BD economy grows step by step, cricket's popularity will go down step by step. The 'crazy' fans will get saner :). You'll also see other sports gaining popularity.

Look at India. Cricket is no longer what it used to be here. It no longer enjoys a monopolistic status or the very large no. of 'crazy' fans. But it's a big country with many venues so it doesn't affect BCCI much (but they're very much aware of this).

So it's not as easy as you think. Without the team improving their performance, I don't see the potential for long term growth. Your economy will definitely grow. But I'm not sure about cricket.
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I am sure of that, atleast our PM is working towards it :). i am an Indian, by the way
 
Gubol123 said:
I am sure of that, atleast our PM is working towards it :). i am an Indian, by the way
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Sorry man I never imagined a non-Bangladeshi would start a thread like this :)). And yeah our economy is reaching new heights. No worries there :).
 
Mr.Q said:
Sorry man I never imagined a non-Bangladeshi would start a thread like this :)). And yeah our economy is reaching new heights. No worries there :).
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:) I am not yet convinced by the BD's skillwise, but excited about the potential they have. As Indians, even for our own reasons, we should encourage at least few more countries to start standing up on their own. BCCI works best when they are threatened. But now they are becoming so big, i am worried they will become complacent and stop pushing the game forward.
 
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A question to Bangladeshi posters here, is the Purchasing Power Parity or whatever it is called getting any better within the Bangla market?
 
GoUgandaCranes said:
A question to Bangladeshi posters here, is the Purchasing Power Parity or whatever it is called getting any better within the Bangla market?
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Cricketers in Bangladesh overall are being paid much better including those in age level cricket. Money doesn't come directly from boards but from different clubs too.

In regards to living in Bangladesh, our boys get a good income even when it's low when you compare exchange rates. That's because cost of living in Bangladesh is much less. You can have a better life with 5k USD in Bangladesh than 10k USD in Australia.

It's good to see increase in sponsorship in so many ways.

But cricket over the years will lose popularity to such an extent it won't be so much sought after as it is right now not just in Bangladesh but everywhere.

In the next 20 years cricket will become an unimportant sport.
 
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