Gordon Greenidge bares his soul (25 Jul 1998)

25 July 1998

Gordon Greenidge bares his soul

The Daily Star

"Personally, there is no way that Bangladesh cricket with the present system can operate in the Test match level in less than ten years."Former West Indies opener Gordon Greenidge was appointed Director of Coaching in November 1996 by the then Bangladesh Cricket Control Board, since renamed Bangladesh Cricket Board. In his first serious test as coach of the national team, Bangladesh achieved beyond its expectations and won the ICC trophy which also enabled it to qualify for the World Cup 1999. However, his team's dismal performance in subsequent tours to Kenya, Sri Lanka, India and very recently Ireland, England and Scotland, has brought his team under obvious criticism. Unexpected though was the public tirade by some BCB executives against the players and the team management, including the wisdom of his appointment, after the latest debacle. After remaining silent for most of his twenty months in charge, the Bangladesh cricket coach could hold on no longer. In an exclusive interview with Al-Amin and Hasan Masood last Thursday, Gordon finally bared his soul.

His outburst was prompted by recent press comments by the BCB president Saber Hossain Chowdhury, his general secretary Syed Ashraful Haque and others, made after the team's return from a miserable six-week tour of Ireland, England and Scotland.

Talking to The Daily Star at his Gulshan residence, the legendary Caribbean batsman literally stripped the BCB officials for being non-professional and non-committal to the cause of cricket in Bangladesh. During the one-and-a-half hour long audience, the Bangladesh coach touched on many aspects related to Bangladesh cricket and the activities of the board, matters which he considered of paramount importance for the future of the game in this country.

Daily Star: The BCB president and the general secretary made observations on the poor performance of the Bangladesh team and the team management on their recent tour to Ireland, England and Scotland. Your response?

Gordon Greenidge: Of course I have a lot of questions. There are factual mistakes as well. You've got a situation here ... there is an article from the secretary of the board where it says that "with the performance of the local cricketers in decline, it had been widely felt that the former dashing Test opener ... is either underutilised or overrated". Now I would like to know whose idea is this? That is one and the second, there is a situation here where a sports reporter in his ... I don't know whether it was quoted or not, but the point is, no one has refuted this, there is a situation where Saber said that the time has come to evaluate the contribution of the team management. You have written that Saber pays the national coach Gordon Greenidge more than three lakh taka, which is untrue. And manager Gazi Ashraf 47,000 taka a month. Now I don't know about Gazi Ashraf, but this information is totally untrue. What I am trying to ascertain is that if this is not true then why was it not refuted? Because it has become publicly known. People are reading this and my credibility is there for scrutiny. Now what I am saying is this, that before any one makes comment about what transpired on the tour, first, do you not think it would be wise to consult the people who were on tour? How can some one from such a distance away make comments about what was happening on tour, the performance of the players and single out individuals of the tour without first knowing what transpired by asking the people who saw what was happening? That is what I would like to find out. Now the thing is, a great deal is being said but no consultation is taking place within the people who are in establishment and myself. I can not speak for Lipu (Gazi Ashraf), I am speaking for myself because, what is happening here is that, everyone is enjoying what is happening until no success is coming. Everyone runs to the airport and hugs the team to be up in the pictures but no one comes to the airport when the team loses. Everyone expects the team to be successful but how is this possible when you have mediocre players who want to play in international sport? It's okay playing in Dhaka, it's okay playing in the ICC against people like the United States, Canada and Argentina. But now you are coming against other teams like India, Sri Lanka, even Kenya, simply because these are the countries who have got professional people more involved with this establishment. And the infrastructure is closely looked at for the development of cricket. All we are doing so far is talking. We have set up various committees but all of these are where they are now and nothing is being acted upon. What is happening? How can people say this and give the general public a false impression of what's happening, but are yet able to scrutinise people who are trying to make a difference to something that they are asking for? But that is what I want to find out.

DS: You were saying regarding your salary ...

GG: That is totally untrue. You have said a figure that is three lakh which comes to probably five thousand eight hundred US. No! that is not true. I don't get 5,800 US.

DS: But, including other facilities?

GG: But that is not included in that. What we have to establish here is that if the board wants to bring anybody here to work, if they have to give him transportation and what ever, that is not part of the contract or overall package. Now the salary is different from what you pay as your wage or what ever. So that is mis-quoted. It is unfair to say this because it's not going to my pocket. It is totally fabricated.

DS: That means your salary is less than what we said?

GG: It's very much true. And the core point about this is, I don't think they will get anybody else to come here at the rate what they are asking from me. Regardless of the outcome of the performance of the team, this is the amount what a county player gets for half of the season. I am here for the full year. So what they pay me isn't something extraordinary. But this is basically less than what a county player is going to get for a season, for five months in a year. This is a twelve-month job; twelve months job in a situation where they have given me a title of Director of Coaching but with no autonomy whatsoever. Nobody consults me about what happens in the board. Nobody takes my advice. They make decisions without consulting me. If you give me the authority or the responsibility of a team as far as the coaching is concerned and the position of Director of Coaching, I think when you choose a team, when you choose people to deal with cricket, the Director of Coaching should know about this. This is his job to deal with cricket. And people make decision within the board without consulting me. Now there is no point. You have given me a situation where you are going to make decisions but then come back and criticise me because things did not work out. This is something that I have to get straight. Now this has been going on for too long. They speak of my credibility, they speak of wages. They did not say that I have gone over one month or closer to two months without being paid by the BCB because they tell me they did not have money and I also did not want that it's going to be a news. I did not say this to the people of Bangladesh. Until they got money I was still doing my job and nobody has said that.

DS: Yes, there was a time when the board did not have enough money ...

GG: They have given me a car but they do not even want to pay for the maintenance of the car. I have to drive the car from Dhaka to BKSP whatever, but yet they expect me to pay for this. The people who are in disruptive position within the board are causing a lot of confusion. Bangladesh cricket will not go anywhere unless these people take note of the importance what we are trying to achieve. I would like to get this straight. I am being pressurised and attacked this time. Sometimes, I had to wait for three weeks or more before I got money. I have to go there everyday. They say that the cheque was not being signed because the people who was supposed to sign was not here. How can this be? You tell me every time that the cheques are to be signed by the people who go away? Now you tell me, where is the professionalism? That was just one aspect of this whole thing.

DS: You have said that these people have reacted without talking to you and the team management ...

GG: That is quite correct. I would have thought that the formal thing to do was, when we returned, instead of the players going off to their respective homes, the board could have asked the players to stay in Dhaka for a day. Then the people like the manager, the selectors and the president could talk to the players and find out exactly what went wrong on the tour. Don't you think that would have been the better way? So, they have not come to the players and they have gone home. They must feel very bad or I think they should feel bad for their performance. But they are going to feel perhaps even worse knowing that the people who are supposed to receive them from the board have turned their back on them because they have not performed well and they have not even come to find out if they were okay or whatever happened. We go on tour, you got to shift, you got to change around, you have to give break to players who don't want to play at that particular time because they were not fit enough. We have players but no doctor or physio. We go on a long tour. And you get teams going on a tour--a shorter tour, but they are able to do this. Now you tell me whether or not the professionalism of all should be scrutinised. What can you do in a situation where you have no control, you have no say in the matter and yet when you need help ... if you go to one person in the board he says, " it is his responsibility, so go and talk to him". When you go and speak to him he goes back to the other person. He says that he has to take leadership from the other person. You don't know who is doing what, who is responsible for what or who you are supposed to report to. Now this has gone on for a long time and I think it is time I say this simply because I have now come under the microscope to be scrutinised. I believe that this is wrongfully done. If there is a problem, I think the persons who are representing the board should speak to me to find out first what has happened before they publicly broadcast these things. That is the procedure that should be taken. I think there is no professionalism in the board.

DS: You are here for the last 20 months and you don't have a chair to sit in the BCB office ...

GG: Yes I don't have any office.

DS: You put forward several concrete proposals which did not come to any effect. But you did not speak out to the press about your dissatisfaction. Why?

GG: Simply because I did not think it was appropriate. And I think you have to give people time to make these changes. You can not hurry these things. I would expect that we should be working together for the betterment of Bangladesh cricket ... for cricket within this country. This was what I was set up to do and this has been my intention since I started this job. It's irrelevant whether it's my first appointment or not. But the point is, everything I try to do I try in a professional manner and to gain success. I had not been a loser when I played this wonderful game and do not want that any team that I represent, or any country, is a loser. We will lose some matches, perhaps because we do not play well enough or perhaps the opposition is better. What I am trying to say, if you do not have the material to work with, how can you expect to be successful? That is the thing ... you can not continue to credit the people for mediocre performances. And that is precisely what we have done over the years, before I came here and after ICC, where we played against small teams and gained success ...

DS: But, this is a different ball game now ...

GG: Precisely. Now we are seeing our inefficiencies. We are incapable of dealing with it because it's a higher standard and because you do not play to that standard in Bangladesh. It is very difficult for us to compete against these other teams. We finished the ICC, we came back and we have no development plans, we have no way to train and practice properly. The team is always broken up to go to other places. We can't stay together as a team to develop the course to practice. All these things are a major factor. All the other countries have gone very much ahead to develop their cricket to a higher standard.

DS: The board is now trying to find a scapegoat in you. How are you going to explain this?

GG: Well, that is exactly true because since the ICC the board has done nothing. We have done nothing. Now just shortly they have put "cricket development officers" in areas, which I think we are a year behind than all the other countries that went to the ICC; well, those countries who are looking to advance in international cricket. Scotland is doing this. Kenya is looking much better everytime we play them. Even Ireland are doing much better. They progress in what they are trying to do to establish themselves in international cricket. They are more advanced than what we are doing. But we are the ones who are talking a lot but not doing anything.

DS: About the board, they are trying to buy the Test status ...

GG: I think pushing for Test match status is wrong at this present moment. You do not have a structure in Bangladesh to play Test cricket. We do not play that kind of cricket, so how do you expect to compete against other countries? How do you expect to get Test status. Okay, someone may say if we start now then we may get it in three years time. But in three years Bangladesh will still not be ready. Personally, there is no way that Bangladesh cricket with the present system can operate in the Test match level in less than ten years. I give you that and I stand challenge on that. To push forward will be suicidal as far as our cricket is concerned. First you need to establish a better structure in Bangladesh. Three-day or four-day matches has to be introduced so that the players get an understanding of what this is all about. Simply because the players are physically weak, they are mentally weak, they are soft, they lack in cricket knowledge and it does not matter what you do with coaching or training. It's still not going to help because this present type of players simply do not have it in them. It has to start with much younger generations from within the schools. And this programme should be initiated from the education authority, from the Government, right through the schools. Because if you are going to do this you can not expect a school teacher just to give up his free time to take the kids out for two hours of training in the evening after class. So this has to be something initiated right away through the authorities, I mean Government. And that is the only way it has to go. They have to go with a full range of development programme so that when they reach the stage to represent even clubs in Dhaka, they already have grown the understanding. The players do not work regardless of what we do in the net, no one seems to be able to change. Their technic is bad, their footwork is bad and you can not change a 20-year, a 26-year or a 30-year old player. They will not make that change.

DS: Regarding the standard of our players, you had said before the Indian tour last May that they were the best possible side we have ...

GG: Yes, you are very correct. I said that simply because they had been playing more cricket and you expected them to represent better. Now the younger players, they seemed to be under more pressure when they play against big name players. You would expect that players who have had a longer opportunity to play cricket would represent themselves better. But this was not true. Okay, you could have chosen a younger team. But, then if you want to say they should have been given experience, fine! But I think that could also be damaging in the long run, on their whole morale and the whole cricket status. Now the players who had been playing for some time in Dhaka at club level, you would have expected them to at least show a little more understanding as to the standard of cricket that we were going to play. But they did not do that. So, the problem is back, where you lose a match and you congratulate the opposition for winning whether you play well or not ... what is hurting is that there is a defeat, a bad defeat... the defeat perhaps was there, but I think how we were defeated would have made a difference. But we had opportunities to do better which we didn't. Yet at the conclusion of the match, they did not show that they were remorseful. They did not look hurt, they did not look this way. This is happening here, this is happening in England. Okay, the condition where we played in England was different for obvious reasons. That is an excuse. We played against India. So? We didn't expect to win then. If that is the attitude, how do you expect to perform credibly? How can you expect a creditable performance if that is the attitude? Because there has to be an attitude. From the way you see the expression of people's face. That is what you have to determine. So, you could always spot the anxiety and the noise of the people who watch the cricket, who see the results and then view the way the players behave.

DS: You have pointed out many a thing. Now can you focus on where they are lacking?

GG: It's commitment. How can you expect them to show what you ask for ... this commitment? Because simply, when they finish up for the national team where they say they would not get paid. They get lot from the clubs, lot of takas. So they feel more comfortable to represent clubs. That will be no good, but that is obvious. They may not tell you this because I do not believe that the players tell the truth. They do not.

DS: So how do you think that we can solve these problems?

GG: How? I can not tell you how to solve your internal problems or the problems that has been so vibrant for so many years. How you solve the problem? How can you expect the problem to be solved when clubs are stronger than the board? When clubs more or less dominate cricket? The board seems to be secondary. But the difficulty you have is that how you can make a change when the same people who represent the clubs sit on the board's panel?

DS: That is the structure we have ...

GG: This is okay to have that. So what I am saying is that ... find out first from those players or from those representing what is happening. What are they thinking? Do you honestly tell me that what you are seeing is good to look at when you see the representatives of the clubs, the supporters of the clubs? And when you see that clubs can refuse to play matches because they didn't feel it's the right occasion or time or players were injured and that sort of thing? But, yet the board does not have the authority to do anything about this. Well thank you. So, until that situation changes, we will not get better. So it has to come from within yourselves. Don't talk about what is happening outside. I say get your house in order first before you start criticising other people.

DS: When we asked the dignitaries during our Independence Cup, they also advised the same thing. But after that we are yet to go for that system. How are you going to explain this?

GG: I had explained this. I can explain this. But the clubs don't want it.

DS: If that is the impression given to you by the board, do you think that is the way the board should comply with the clubs' desires?

GG: I feel that the people matters, put their heads together and come up with the plans for the betterment of cricket in Bangladesh. Not for the success of the clubs ... I think the emphasis is more on how well the clubs can do, how many trophies they can earn, instead of what to do for the development of cricket within the country nationally ... not at club level. But when you have a situation where the clubs ... they want to win trophies, this is their main aim. Of course, no managing director is going to put money on clubs always losing. But the point is you got a situation where you are looking to develop the sport nationally. But again you can not do this simply because you don't have that communication or that sort of clubs. It's as simple as that. This has to change but I think the whole situation is like that. We have returned from England, from a tour that was expected to give the players the practice for the World Cup next year. It is true that we did not play well and the few matches that we did win were against not so strong sides, not the full sides that we could play. When we did play those full sides it was obvious that our players were not capable. Does that have anything to do with the coach or the manager? You played in different conditions, yes, but you cannot change the players just like that. I am willing to represent myself as to what happened. We also take some of the blame because we could not push the Bangladesh players as far as the Scottish players were being pushed because they were not mentally and physically prepared for this. They can not do it. They get tired quickly. Sometimes they put up their hands to stop the balls because it hurts. When the ball goes in the air I believe the players hope that the ball doesn't come to him. They say that the ball doesn't come to them. I am hoping this, I am thinking this because you can see that they are not focused on trying to catch this ball because they think the ball might hurt his hand.

DS: Well we usually see a player giving his best in domestic cricket to get chance in the national team. They seem to be very eager to do that. But according to you, there is a rapid change in the attitude of the players. Can you please explain why does it happen?

GG: They are eager ... they say they are eager because they have got people pushing forward. They always want to please these persons who are pushing for their inclusion in the team. That's it. That is the situation that is difficult to answer. If this is the case, why this change of attitude? Why this change of thought now they had been selected? The thing is, getting the players to show more fight is very difficult because it is not the nature of the players ... getting the players to commit themselves to their job is very difficult ... that seem to be possible. We have tried all sorts of methods, we have tried talking but again that do not seem to be very easy because they do not speak. And then when they speak, they do not speak the truth. You can not ask them what is happening because they simply look down and do not answer. But yet you will find that a majority of the players will talk among themselves where it doesn't matter ... not in the team meetings. If they speak up in the team meetings they will almost repeat everything everyone is saying. You ask them what was your thought, what were you doing when you were bowling? They will say I was trying to bowl three-quarter. But when you ask what was going on in your head? And what did you see in the batsman that you were trying to exploit? Nobody can tell you this. This is lack of cricket knowledge. So, if they do not have the thinking how can they put it into practice? Nobody ... no coach or manager can give you the thinking. If they do not have this from before, they will not get it and they will not be able to put it into practice.

DS: Apart from this, sometimes the board says that you are the coach of the national team and sometimes they say that you are the Director of Coaching of the board. Can you say why they change their words?

GG: Well, maybe it should be made the coach of the national team because I think as Director of Coaching, I am given no autonomy. None whatsoever. I have not been consulted about anything to do with cricket because when I ask for information I don't get that. It's happening since my arrival. If I do not ask for they do not give. I can not ask. They did not consult me about this tour of England. We go to England and we have to sit down for our practice dates. We had to call for assistance because no practice was organised for us ... all these sorts of things. I have lived in England for many years and you have not thought to even consult me for these things? Not even as Director of coaching? But I am not consulted. I am not consulted about anything to do with cricket. Decision are made and then I hear about it. Before they are made, I am not asked to give any representation. They simply don't ask for this. So you tell me I might as well just be called as the coach of the national team and I think that is the way it perhaps should be because I am not given any authority. I am not given any position to make decisions. And I am not given any place to work so I have to work at home. I have to type my own report at home and I have to do all these by myself. They complain about the house and I am saying this is another situation where it is very little honesty going on in what is happening around. Very little. You go to one person he will tell you one thing, you go to another person he will tell you something else. You do not know who to play and you do not know which one is true. There are many problems in the whole thing. I am having many problems that I don't want to tell it to the press. I am having problems down with this place where I am living in. This is a big problem. I am supposed to feel certainly free to do my job. I have to worry about all these things here when you have brought me here to do a professional job. Now you tell me if they expect me to be a professional person why are they not professional themselves?

DS: We have written in our report that you have been either underutilised or overrated. The second word we have mentioned actually to make it compact ...

GG: What you have tried you should try with Bangladesh as well. What gives you the authority to say that? What do you mean by overrated?

DS: Okay, let us make it clear. You were underutilised. We have asked this question to the board president and the general secretary and they did not give us any clear cut answer. So the second word is harsh, we are sorry for that.

GG: You are sorry for this? That does not clarify or that does not make the situation any better; simply because how many thousands of people in Bangladesh have read this.

DS: You don't read Bangla newspapers. You have not seen the comments they have made about you in the last one week ...

GG: I would like those to be translated so that I can reply to those. Because what I am saying is the people are looking for a scapegoat. They are speaking that there is no development in Bangladesh cricket. I have said that they all stand back, I mean enjoy the success of the ICC. No body has got off their seats to do a lot of work for the development of cricket. But everybody still wants and expects Bangladesh cricket to go to international cricket or Test match and do better. So, nobody is doing any work. Now, you tell me, is it a one-man job? Do you not think that behind the scene the organisation should start with a proper work plan before the players can be put into a situation where they can develop to a international standard?

DS: Yes you are correct ...

GG: So, which road are they following? Do you not think it is the cart before the horse?

Well that situation makes you to retract because it is character-damaging, regardless of whether it is read by a Bangladeshi or people read in England. The point is when they read this what does it tell you? And it is in an article where Ashraful Haque is supposed to be a part of. The point whether he said this or not, this to my credit is damaging. And I am not accepting this. I am expecting an apology for this and also I want this to go on record that I am not the party to be a scapegoat for what is happening in Bangladesh cricket. Because the people who are looking for others to take the blame, simply because of this lack of professional organisation and I would like to make this clear.

DS: We feel sorry for that. Now tell us what we can do?

GG: If we conduct the training session, we have to limit it. We have to limit our training sessions, or divide it up so that we have plenty of rest time inbetween ... simply because the players can not last. If we have a practice session we can not go through the full repertoire of cricket because you have to concentrate so much on one individual and you have not so much time to do this. If we go to train at BKSP, for some reason or the other, the players are taken back to Dhaka. If you don't have a proper session, how much practice can you do? The bowlers have to bowl. But do you not think after one and a half hour they get tired? So if you have 12 or 14 players with four or three main bowlers, how can you conduct a training session? Do you not think that some batsmen are going to get less practice because you are not going to have the bowlers? So how do you expect to conduct all these practice sessions? All these things you could have told to the people involved but this will not make any difference because they do not ... you do not have the facilities. There is no point talking about it. We have to make the best of what we have. So, you go on to do this programme with that argument. Now it comes to a stage where it is seen, rather it is obvious that to compete with other countries, our players can not do this. It is now said, or it is being talked, that it is because of management and coach. Now you can not inject skill into a person in a year and eight months what they should have achieved in their first, may be 12 years or 15 years of playing cricket because you are looking forward to start playing the game from about 14. So 14 plus 20 is 34 or 32. And if you start from 12 years it will be 25 or 26. So how can you expect all of these to happen with players who already are supposed to be established? Now this is not the younger players. These are the established players who also use the media to have praise for their mediocre performances. And it's true. They get 30 and they go for making nights. They organise the papers. These are mediocre performances but yet they get promoted. So, when are they going to get used to the proper bowler, bowlers who could hold a consistent line? They are not able to do this because they now realise what they have been doing, being so accredited for it is not sufficient. So the only way that this is going to make a change is to possibly at this present moment forget about all the allegations of Bangladesh cricket, look to establish a strong domestic structure that is going to give us a better chance of representation in the future. That is what we have to do. Get it right here first otherwise the players going abroad will always be disappointed. And those who are supposed to send them abroad, who are talking about all these money spending, are going to be continuously disappointed. So until they realise this, this will continue to happen. It's not going to matter if you send players regularly abroad, if you do not create a better structure for cricket locally. Then you will not be able to handle it internationally because they do not know how to adapt to it. But once you have the chance to play locally, there is always a better chance that they can represent themselves outside. That is the direction that we have to go in. But too much talk and no work ... this disrupted and destructive force behind the scenes who are looking for just self-importance and not promoting cricket for the betterment of the country.

DS: There is a general view that if you had been without Gazi Ashraf, the players would have been more motivated ...

GG: I don't think so, because even now I am trying to get to know the players and Lipu (Gazi Ashraf) has helped me in some way ... in trying to establish some communication with the players. But that has been difficult also because I have said the players themselves were not honest in the UK.

This is the final part, of the exclusive interview given by the Bangladesh cricket coach Gordon Greenidge to Al-Amin and Hasan Masood.

DS: Sometimes the BCB says that you are the coach of the national team and sometimes they say that you are the Director of Coaching. Why do they do this?

GG: Well, maybe it should be made the coach of the national team because I think as Director of Coaching, I am given no autonomy. None whatsoever. I have not been consulted about anything to do with cricket because when I ask for information I don't get that. It's happening since my arrival. If I do not ask for they do not give. I can not ask. They did not consult me about this tour of England. We go to England and we have to sit down for our practice dates. We had to call for assistance because no practice was organised for us ... all these sorts of things. I have lived in England for many years and you have not thought to even consult me for these things? Not even as Director of Coaching? But I am not consulted. I am not consulted about anything to do with cricket. Decisions are made and then I hear about it. Before they are made, I am not asked to give any representation. They simply don't ask for this. So you tell me, I might as well just be called the coach of the national team and I think that is the way it perhaps should be because I am not given any authority. I am not given any position to make decisions. And I am not given any place to work so I have to work at home. I have to type my own report at home and I have to do all these by myself. They complain about the house and I am saying this is another situation where there is very little honesty going on about what is happening. Very little. You go to one person he will tell you one thing, you go to another person he will tell you something else. You do not know who to play and you do not know which one is true. There are many problems in the whole thing. I am having many problems that I don't want to tell it to the press. I am having problems down with this place where I am living in. This is a big problem. I am supposed to feel certainly free to do my job. I have to worry about all these things here when you have brought me here to do a professional job. Now you tell me if they expect me to be a professional person why are they not professional themselves?

DS: We have written in our report that you have been either under-utilised or overrated. The word 'overrated" was used to spite the cricket officials ...

GG: What you have tried you should try with Bangladesh as well. What gives you the authority to say that? What do you mean by overrated?

DS: Okay, let us make it clear. You were under-utilised. We have asked this question to the board president and the general secretary and they did not give us any clear-cut answer. So the second word is perhaps harsh, we are sorry to have hurt your feelings.

GG: You are sorry for this? That does not clarify or that does not make the situation any better; simply because how many thousands of people in Bangladesh have read this?

DS: You don't read Bangla newspapers. You have not seen the comments they (BCB officials) have made about you in the last one week ...

GG: I would like those to be translated so that I can reply to those. Because what I am saying is the people are looking for a scapegoat. They are speaking that there is no development in Bangladesh cricket. I have said that they all stand back, I mean enjoy the success of the ICC. No body has got off their seats to do a lot of work for the development of cricket. But everybody still wants and expects Bangladesh cricket to go to international cricket or Test match and do better. Nobody is doing any work. Now, you tell me, is it a one-man job? Do you not think that behind the scene the organisation should start with a proper work plan before the players can be put into a situation where they can develop to a international standard?

DS: Yes you are correct ...

GG: So, which road are they following? Do you not think it is the cart before the horse?

Well that situation makes you to retract because it is character-damaging, regardless of whether it is read by a Bangladeshi or people in England. The point is when they read this what does it tell you? And it is in an article where Ashraful Haque is supposed to be a part of. The point whether he said this or not, this to my credit is damaging. And I am not accepting this. I am expecting an apology for this and also I want this to go on record that I am not the party to be a scapegoat for what is happening in Bangladesh cricket. Because the people who are looking for others to take the blame, simply because of this lack of professional organisation.

DS: Now tell us what we can do.

GG: If we conduct the training session, we have to limit it. We have to limit our training sessions, or divide it up so that we have plenty of rest time in-between ... simply because the players can not last. If we have a practice session we can not go through the full repertoire of cricket because you have to concentrate so much on one individual and you do not have so much time to do this. If we go to train at BKSP, for some reason or the other, the players are taken back to Dhaka. If you don't have a proper session, how much practice can you do? The bowlers have to bowl. But do you not think after one and a half hour they get tired? So if you have 12 or 14 players with four or three main bowlers, how can you conduct a training session? Do you not think that some batsmen are going to get less practice because you are not going to have the bowlers? So how do you expect to conduct all these practice sessions? All these things you could have told to the people involved but this will not make any difference because they do not ... you do not have the facilities. There is no point talking about it. We have to make the best of what we have. So, you go on to do this programme with that argument. Now it comes to a stage where it is seen, rather it is obvious that to compete with other countries, our players can not do this. It is now said, or it is being talked, that it is because of management and coach. Now you can not inject skill into a person in a year and eight months what they should have achieved in their first, may be 12 years or 15 years of playing cricket because you are looking forward to start playing the game from about 14. So 14 plus 20 is 34 or 32. And if you start from 12 years it will be 25 or 26. So how can you expect all of these to happen with players who already are supposed to be established? Now this is not the younger players. These are the established players who have been praised by the media for their mediocre performances. And it's true. They get 30 and they go for making nights. They organise the papers. These are mediocre performances but yet they get promoted. So, when are they going to get used to the proper bowler, bowlers who could hold a consistent line? They are not able to do this because they now realise what they have been doing, being so accredited for it is not sufficient. So the only way that this is going to make a change is to possibly at this present moment forget about all the allegations of Bangladesh cricket, look to establish a strong domestic structure that is going to give us a better chance of representation in the future. That is what we have to do. Get it right here first otherwise the players going abroad will always be disappointed. And those who are supposed to send them abroad, who are talking about all these money spending, are going to be continuously disappointed. So until they realise this, this will continue to happen. It's not going to matter if you send players regularly abroad, if you do not create a better structure for cricket locally. Then you will not be able to handle it internationally because they do not know how to adapt to it. But once you have the chance to play locally, there is always a better chance that they can represent themselves outside. That is the direction that we have to go in. But too much talk and no work. A totally disrupted and destructive force behind the scenes who are just looking for self-importance and not promoting cricket for the betterment of the country.

DS: There is a general view that if you had been without Gazi Ashraf, the players would have been more motivated ...

GG: I don't think so. I find Lipu (manager Gazi Ashraf) to be a very capable person and one hundred percent Bangla-deshi. I have seen water from his eyes when he know the players should have done better. I have noticed the expression on his face (after a debacle) that tells me he had internal grief and abundance of stress inside for that he did not want to let out. Because I feel if he lets out something serious is going to happen. And I think it very sad to level criticism at the person without finding out what is happening. To me he is solely for Bangladesh cricket and he wants Bangladesh cricket to do well. You do not know the temper that he throws at the players. He has every reason to be angry because he knows if he lets it out people in Bangladesh will not be pleased. I don't know whether there are any discontent between Lipu and the senior players in the team. If that is true I think that is a personal matter and I'm not interested to make any comment in this regard. But let me say something which I have not disclosed before. I'm ... congratulating the success of the Bangladesh team in the ICC (in Malaysia). I have also had ... since I have not done well after ICC. I'm aware of this situation since I have only one success ... threatening calls for I'm not doing a good job for Bangladesh cricket. I have had threatening calls but I don't tell people these things because I dismissed these. These people do not know or they do not understand. Yes, I would like to give them success all the time but this is not always possible. But they do not understand and I just put that down to sheer ignorance. The difficulties about this is that I have tried to make the situation as comfortable as possible. I'm not to be pressured. If pressure has to come it should be in the development of the sport you are training for. But you get people calling you on numbers that are supposed be private numbers, this could be very damaging at times. But I do not let this worry me. I still go on and do my job. I don't broadcast it to every body because I just brush this off as just some person who is displeased by the lack success of the team. I'm also displeased. But if that's what he feels that is his problem. But for Lipu it is different. He lives here. He has to be careful of what he does. I think he takes great care, perhaps more care than others, for what he says and what he does simply because he does not know what sort of repercussion there may have. I have no reservation accrediting Lipu for the job he does because this person is very much ... for the job that he is doing and feels extremely hurt after every failure. But he still wants to do the job because he feels he can make a difference. Now, how many people can you say this about that have any cricket knowledge in the Board? How many people in the Board who are not cricketers can say that they are one hundred percent for Bangladesh cricket? I don't think there's many. I think there are probably more cricketers who have represented Bangladesh that are not part of the Board who can do a much better job. Lipu has helped me in some way in trying to establish communication with the players. But that has been difficult because I have said the players themselves were not honest in the UK.

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