Pre CV - 19, BCB did brilliantly to be honest; this is one of very few people institutions that actually is functioning in Hasina’s rigid regime. Don’t know what lies in front because, not only cricket, whole country & economy is under severe threat. If there is any global recession, one of the first few countries that will suffer body blow is Bangladesh- be it through remittance or textile/RMG sector. Those $35-38bn reserves that hard working Bangladeshis accumulated to boast Hasina’s esteem will evaporate in no time; cricket should suffer its consequences severely as well.
The journey of developing into a strong Cricket nation takes lot more planning & time - it’s not a physical game, rather a skill based old fashioned game that needs the culture first. Ever since English Counties stopped hiring foreigners in mass, just look at where WIN & PAK cricket have gone down in just two decades. For a new entrants with severe financial crisis, it’s even tougher for BD. And, when it comes to Test cricket, it’s even tougher - we are not only struggling with adequate skill set, but mass interest as well. New generation hardly bother for the longer version. Up to ZIM, every new entrant had an advantage that those days Test cricket was supreme, the ultimate esteem for a cricketer - not any more. Problem is, you can’t develop this game without nurturing players n the longer format - therefore it’s a double trouble for us - you need money & Test (FC) cricket to grow as a Test nation, but Test cricket doesn’t earn that money, and the economy is not strong enough to spoon feed a non essential event.
Still, what BCB has done in last 20 years is astonishing- we didn’t have even a National league, let alone FC system as close as 2000 - amateur players playing here and there tournaments around few big cities and that’s it. No infrastructures either - grounds were shared with soccer, no training facilities, no intellectuality, very little knowledge about the game of technical side of the game; no qualified coaching staffs either - former cricketers used to run some cricket clubs as coach and those cricketers were not even at the level of Mumbai/Karachi league cricket.
I can recall, in 2009, some Richard Pybas left BCB after two weeks, because he didn’t “enjoy” his stay in Bangladesh- these days, every time BCB posts an ad, this guy is among the first to apply ..... Whatmore, kicked door out of BCB’s conference room because he didn’t have one single ground fit enough to train his boys during off season and someone told him to manage at the side tracks of Dhaka stadium before/after the soccer game. Shahriar Nafees left for ICL at 23, for a contract of less than $100k, jeopardising his national future - when asked, he gave a calculation that it’ll take him 15+!years in BD shirt to match those four weeks earnings. Guy is educated and his logic was simple - I’ll play there as long as possible .... then open my own garments/buying house.
From there on, where BD cricket has moved is a truly amazing journey. We have a fantastic FC system now, cascading Australian system, covering whole country - the quality is lagging, but it’s well organised. First positive of that is n 2000, all 16 players that were chosen for first tour were resident of Dhaka or Chittagong - today, may be 15 will come from small towns. Bringing the whole population into the talent pool and as the first success of BCB. It has grown tremendously in terms of finance - BD Sports ministry & Local Govt Public Works had to support BCB arranging 1998 ICC KO tournament. Today, BCB has 10-12 dedicated cricket stadiums with excellent facilities. Mash Mortuza was the highest paid BD cricketer in 2008 - some $10K in total in a year.... last season, BCB awarded central contracts to around 100 FC cricketers - lowest slab being around $10k.
In terms of skill developments, there are several qualified coaches are now working at grass root level at, at least 12 academics across country with fantastic facilities- indoor net/gym, bowling machines, physical instructors, qualified curators. The National High Performance centre at Savar is still WiP, but it has some of the best facilities in world, installed under the supervision of pros, again copying the Queensland academy. There are national tournaments for age level cricket, there is a functional scouting network. Those 15 boys winning U19 WC are given a $12k/year retainer-ship for two years and some of them will go to ECB/BCCI/CAs high performance centres at BCBs expense. After so many years of experience and knowledge and with that financial muscle, even now days many of India’s domestic games are played on substandard pitches, most of the FC players are not up to the fitness level that’s required for professional sports, which should suggest how difficult it is to develop it from scratch under severe financial constraints.
All this will add to the strength to BD cricket inch by inch. These 15 boys won’t make it a World Champion unit in 2027 or 2031, but they’ll add to the strength of domestics - real impact starts from there, when grass root players are being pushed to improve their level to survive. Shakib can bat right handed and still he will be one of our greats but individuals hardly matter - the growth has to be collectively, which takes longer time. Every development first needs a process to be fit, otherwise we will always be stuck with when next Shakib is born.
Coming to the next 10-12 years - I think, despite hiccups, our W/L ratio in matches that matters is improving, but more importantly the gap of loss is reducing. Any team can shock someone on their day - BD did that in 2007 WC, could have beaten that AUS side in a Test in 2005, but then no point losing next three games inside 25 overs. There is a good flow on younger players and by every season the overall quality is on a upward curve - compared to last few seasons, this years BPL hardly had any name out side PAK, but that gap was considerably filled up by local players - as long as it happens, BD is in right track. But again - BD Test performance by the scale of W/L can never be compared with even 30-40 years past, the context has changed from even 80s. Weaker teams don’t have the back doors anymore to steal a draw - games are 5 days long, ICC is forcing maximum playing time by over rate fines, extended hours, makeup times; technology has come into the aid - artificial light, better drainage/drying facilities; neutral umpires, ball scrutiny, pitch inspections..... the context that newcomers got into Test cricket in past - cascade that in last 20 years, BD record will look MUCH better (just make it 4 day Test, not even 3). Also, apart from ENG/AUS, every new entrant has a space to hide - WIN/NZ had each other’s + SAF; IND/PAK had each other & NZL .... BD entered Test circle with eight strong & established teams - add to that the playing conditions, its really a tough place Test cricket, for emerging teams.
The comparison with AFG often comes and may be rightly so as well, but we have to understand the context as well. In such an highly technical game, many of these AFG senior players actually got their baptism in established PAK cricket circles, then the younger generation got the world class facilities of BCCI, therefore they had a relatively faster track. It’s a bit moot to mention their internal situation because that’s what has brought them here - without the war, Afghans won’t have migrated to bordering PAK and that geo-politics has availed them a favour from BCCI, otherwise people here have absolutely no clue what and from where BCB has pulled BD cricket here.
This is where I really don’t get what some PAK posters here are trying to achieve taunting BD cricket - we are a brilliant addition to the small & shrinking cricket world. Their predecessors have done that to India 30-40 years back .... now those people feel shy even about taking cricket with Indians - the gap is that embarrassingly telling. I can categorically tell that I actually can sum up the age of PAK posters here, from their posts around cricket - it’s predictable. I started following PAK cricket at it's peak - from that level, where it has come down now, I indeed have the eye and knowledge to sum it up. And then, it’s quite irritating for me to suffer attitude from some of the PAK posters here whose own team is sinking. The beautiful game cricket is heading to a slow death, it can only survive by promoting the game where it has future - AND by preserving the skills where it prospered in past. In that regard, BCB and BD cricket has done fantastically for the first part; though can’t say about PCB & PAK for the second part - unfortunately, some PAK posters don’t have the grasp to realise it.... hence we are often in a fight about who should play Test cricket and where or which tier. The day, they’ll realise it, our stay at PP will be much more pleasant.
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