MD ABU TALHA SARKER, Dhaka: Country’s cricketing fraternity has lavished praise on the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) for the latter’s new initiative of a three-team ‘President’s Cup Cricket Tournament-2020’ amid the ongoing corona backlashes in and outside the country.
The 13-day tournament is set to kickoff with the clash between the Mahmudullah Riyad XI and the Najmul Hossain Shanto XI at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) in Mirpur on Sunday.
Cricket experts termed the initiative a necessary and timely one that was needed for all sorts of the players to mark a much-needed comeback to competitive cricket after the long corona-enforced lay-off.
They think that the tournament will make the players active in competitive cricket, which is crucial for Bangladesh cricket right now. They also think that it’ll be a good platform for players, who are young and talented and always expect a platform to test their skills and showcase their sheer talent to keep them in the race as future players in national fold.
Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, cricket expert and teacher of the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan (BKSP), said such a tournament is needed for cricketers covering all levels to bring them in cricket.
“The tournament is important for our leading players as they’ll get their rhythm back through it. Actually, we’ve several groups of players. Our leading players are a section of them. Besides, those who belong to mid-level are waiting to burst into the national side. One or more among them will enter the national fold within next 1/2 years. And the third group, who are preparing themselves to successfully cross senior level – especially those who’ve finished the level of Under-19,” he said.
According to him, “We all know it’s a challenging environment, from where the BCB is trying to bring all the players out of a certain situation. That’s really praiseworthy. We’ve to bear in mind that we have important players in every level with some in top-level, mid-level or lower-level. It’s imperative to bring them in active form.”
However, former national player Dipu Rai Choudhury said cricketers need to play cricket for which organising such a tournament will be better for them compared to their practice only.
“It’s always tough to play cricket after a long gap. Playing on-the-field matches during the tournament will be different from practicing regularly,” Choudhury said.
According to him, “We’ve heard that BCB will organise BPL in December-January. Upon organising the tournament, the BCB can host T20 Corporate Cricket in November prior to the BPL. It’ll be better for the players.”
BCB, meanwhile, spotted a slew of young talented players from the High Performance (HP) team and the 2020 World Cup winning Bangladesh U-19 Cricket Team with the help of the national selectors. They formed the teams with a blend of the experienced and young talents so that the tournament could be a competitive one.
After the suspension of Bangladesh’s Sri Lanka tour comprising a three-Test series, BCB planned to organise the tournament with the stunning prize money so that the players could come and perform with all efforts.
As per the declaration, the Champions will be rewarded with a staggering Tk 10 lakh. The runners-up will also be awarded with prize money. Even BCB has kept the award for the highest scorer and wicket-taker of the seven-match tournament.
The board, meanwhile, divided the responsibility of the teams among its coaching staff. According to the delegation of responsibility, fast bowling coach Ottis Gibson will handle the team led by Mahmudullah Riyad while fielding coach Ryan Cook will take care of Tamim Iqbal-led team.
Jafrul Ahsan will look after Najmul Hossain Shanto-led team in absence of the High Performance (HP) head coach Toby Radford, who is expected to arrive in Dhaka very soon. Upon his arrival, Radford will join the team after maintaining a week-long quarantine.
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