BCB to start skill camp for youth cricketers

Bangladesh Cricket Board is going to start a skill camp today to find out the next batch of junior Tigers who will represent the country in the Under-19 World Cup in 2024.

Selection committee members have already picked up 40 young cricketers from the last edition of the Sheikh Kamal Youth Cricket League that ended in May.

Stuart Law, the newly appointed head coach of the U-19 team, alongside Wasim Jaffer, the batting coach, has already arrived in Bangladesh and will begin their tenure with the camp, which will run till August 8.

AEM Kawser, game development manager at BCB, told The Business Post that the new coaches will select the next batch of junior Tigers from this camp.

“We are starting the camp with 40 cricketers selected from the youth cricket league. The camp will begin at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, and then we will shift to BKSP. We will select 28 cricketers from this camp for more intense training later,” he said.

Bangladesh won the ICC U-19 World Cup in 2020, and BCB had illustrious plans to develop the next batch to defend the title.

But in 2022, the U-19 team could not perform up to the mark and finished eighth. The batting display was horrible in the Caribbeans. Therefore, BCB brought some changes in the coaching staff.

After Naveed Nawaz, the previous U-19 coach, left Bangladesh, BCB hired former Australian cricketer Law in his place. Law earlier worked as the head coach of the national team and also served as the technical adviser of the U-19 team for the 2016 U-19 World Cup, where Bangladesh became third.

Jaffer, a former Indian opener, is replacing former Bangladesh batsman Mehrab Hossain as the batting coach.

Jaffer previously worked with the Bangladesh national team and has also worked with Indian Premier League and Ranji Trophy teams.

The fitness trainer of the team which won the World Cup, Richard Stonier, got his tenure extended last time, but after the dismal performances in this year’s edition, his contract was not renewed.

The BCB appointed another British national Alex Carey as the fitness trainer, who is contracted up to the next edition of the ICC U-19 World Cup.