Bangladesh cricket in context (26 Sep 1998)

26 September 1998

Bangladesh cricket in context

Mohammad Eradatullah

Ever since Bangladesh's glorious victory by winning the ICC Trophy against Kenya in Kuala Lumpur, it has met with debacles, one after another in almost every encounter abroad. It seems from their performance in Kenya, New Zealand, Ireland, England and Scotland and finally in the Commonwealth Games at Kuala Lumpur that they are not familiar with bowing action of the type executed by their contenders. Or they have totally forgotten whatever batting they learnt. It is extremely disappointing and hard to believe. How can one imagine that a team like Bangladesh can score only 63 runs against Northern Ireland and thus suffer a crushing defeat by 114 runs? After all these vagaries many would justifiably say that Bangladesh withdraw from the World Cup Tournament next year to avert further possible ignominy. This is however, a little bit of an emotional outburst. But the question which haunts the cricket fans of the country is why this miserable plight of Bangladesh cricket after winning ACC and ICC trophy? Undeniably, there are many identifiable reasons and if we are to salvage whatever image is still left and if we sincerely want to avert further humiliation in the biggest cricket bonanza, it is high time that an objective analysis of the whole situation be made and reforms undertaken.

By now it has been proved beyond doubt that our players cannot perform outside the country as much as they can in the domestic cricket. The answers are quite a few and simple. The major snag is lack of experience and exposure to play international matches. Time and again we hear from the eminent commentators that Bangladeshi cricketers have talent but they cannot perform upto their full ability. This is one particular side The Management, coach and the captain must give due attention. Efforts should be made to remove the drawbacks of individual players. Experience and exposure can be frequently gathered by sending team to neighbouring countries or inviting them to tour Bangladesh.

The next drawback which I noticed is that there is lack of prudence in the selection of team. I do not know what are the criteria that the selectors keep in view but as a lover of the game, it appears that there is no proper evaluation. To say about the selection for ACC tournament in Nepal, Akram Khan's total dropout is a surprise to many. On many occasions, Akram Khan's fighting knock carried Bangladesh through to victory. In spite of consistent failure of Mark Taylor of Australia, he was never dropped and eventually he regained form. Sachin Tendulkar also lost his form once but regained after losing captaincy.

Similarly, total omission of Atahar and Nannu has not been a wise decision. Atahar is a steady opener and occasionally bowls very well indeed. Nannu's persistent hanging on at the time of collapse is known to all. These experienced players may be retained in the team for play if needed. On the other hand, inclusion of too many youngsters like Sajjad Ahmed, Shahriyar Hossain, Hasanuzzaman, Mushfiqur Rahman Babu and Shafiuddin does not appear to be a good decision.

By now it is quite clear that the weakest department is batting. Our top order batsmen often fail and in that case the pressure will be on Faruque, Rokon and Khaled Mahmud. Thereafter, no other dependable batsmen are left except Md Rafique, incidentally, Durjoy and Moni may also be included as reserves as they have been found quite useful in the past.

Apart from selection of players, there should exist a harmonious atmosphere at the top level management. Recently, there has been a lot of mud slinging and bickering between BCB General Secretary Syed Ashraful Huq and national cricket coach (or coaching director) Gordon Greenidge. This is unfortunate and undesirable too. Greenidge is a legendary figure in the cricket world and we should try to get the best out of him.

Gordon should be given at any cost a long rope in the national interest of our cricket. The decision of Gazi Ashraf Lipu to resign and dissociate himself from national cricket is another unfortunate event. Nobody is entirely blaming him for the recent failure. Rather he should take lessons from failure and vow to improve Bangladesh cricket with renewed pledge. We still believe that Gazi Ashraf can give a lot to national cricket. However, even if there exist any discord among the team management care should be taken so that the spirit of the players remain unaffected and these should be amicably settled.

Above all, the players should have the firm commitment toward the game and the nation they are representing as a whole. If cricket in the neighbouring countries can reach such a height of glory why cannot we get at least near them? If our players can put up everything at their command, play according to guidance of coach, skipper and be disciplined, there is no reason for frustration. Bangladesh cricket is still in its infancy and has to go a long long way through trials and tribulations and, possibly one day, the dream of millions will come true.

Source :: The Bangladesh Daily Star (https://www.dailystarnews.com)