Bangladesh: Saber's stadium formula (6 November 1998)

6 November 1998

Bangladesh: Saber's stadium formula

The Daily Star

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) wants to utilise the well-equipped Bangabandhu National Stadium under mutual understanding with its owner, the National Sports Council and Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF).

Talking to BSS at his office, the Deputy Minister for Shipping and BCB president Saber Hossain Chowdhury said, "We don't want any misunderstanding among ourselves on utilisation of the stadium."

"It's neither BCB property nor of BFF. The apex body of Bangladesh - National Sports Council - is the owner and caretaker of the stadium and NSC is allotting the Bangabandhu National Stadium for various sporting events and occasions in the national interest on priority basis."

Saber Chowdhury said, "We are ready to sit with BFF in the presence of State Minister for Youth and Sports Obaidul Quader, who is also NSC chairman, to find out the ways for the best possible utilisation of the stadium considering the priority of sports.

"And that will definitely help us avoid all sorts of confusion," he said.

The state minister is likely to sit with BFF and BCB presidents on November 9.

NSC has allotted the stadium to BCB from October 1 to March 31 for the international and Premier cricket league matches.

The transfer of cricketers, which was scheduled to start on November 10, is going to be shifted by at least one week due to the tour of the West Indies A team, the BCB president said adding that "It will be finalised in a meeting of Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolitan (CCDM) today."

Regarding the BFF's claim for the Bangabandhu National Stadium at this moment, the BCB president said the post-monsoon period is the suitable period for the cricket season in Bangladesh and "We have to organise all the cricket events - tournaments, leagues, international matches - within this stipulated time."

"So we are really under serious pressure of programmes as well as ground crisis in Dhaka."

"Moreover, to improve the standard of cricket as well as to fulfil the instructions of the International Cricket Council (ICC) for introduction of the longer version of matches BCB has decided to hold 80-over-a-side Premier league matches which will consume more time than the previous years," the BCB president said.

"Besides, Bangladesh has qualified for the next year's World Cup in England for the first time and to prepare the team we have a series of programmes for the team as run up to the World Cup," he said, adding "that everybody will have to consider all these things.

"For football, there is a substitute national stadium at Mirpur, but for cricket there is no alternatives," he said.

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