Home ›› 19 Aug 2022 ›› Sport
Bangladesh Cricket Board officials are thinking about separate teams for different formats to tackle the workload of cricketers in the newly revealed Future Tours Programme by the International Cricket Council.
Bangladesh Cricket Board’s director of the game development committee and the team director of the national team, Khaled Mahmud, said that split teams and coaching staff were the ultimate solutions to tackle the workload.
Selector and former captain Habibul Bashar thinks that separate teams for different formats are the need of the hour.
International Cricket Council revealed the FTP up to 2027 on Wednesday, where Bangladesh will play 34 Tests, 59 One-Day Internationals, and 57 Twenty20 Internationals.
On top of that, there are multiple global events- two T20 World Cups and 50-Over World Cup and an ICC Champions Trophy. Besides those, Bangladesh will also participate in Asia Cups.
Along with the payload of international cricket, the cricketers will also play in franchise-based and domestic tournaments, giving them little breathing space.
Former captain Mahmud told The Business Post that split teams were the ultimate solution to tackle the workload and preserve the mental well-being of the cricketers.
“Cricketers are not machines; they have a social life too. We just learned how many matches we have to play in the coming days. We have to manage our resources accordingly, but the way other teams are going, I think split teams are the way forward,” he told The Business Post on Thursday.
Recently on June 22, England played an ODI against the Netherlands in Amsterdam, and on the next day, the Test between England and New Zealand began at Leeds.
Mahmud also feels that separate teams for separate formats are now becoming a reality, but Bangladesh need a bigger pool of players for that.
“Ultimately, every team will opt for this process. But to follow that model, we need a bigger pool of cricketers. We can’t make separate teams with these 30-35 cricketers. There will be injuries, off forms, fatigue, and various issues. We need more cricketers to perform at the top level,” said the former captain.
Mahmud is also the director of game development, and he thinks that players are coming up.
“Not everybody gets called up to the national team directly from U-19. But recently we have seen Shoriful (Islam) and a few others coming to the national team quickly. We have a High-Performance and A team. Hopefully, we can raise a few more players to the top level,” he told The Business Post.
BCB President Nazmul Hassan said on Thursday that players did not have the time to improve due to the increased workload.
“The matches are now non-stop. Players don’t have time to breathe. The boys need to improve, but when will we do that,” he said.
Bashar thinks that Bangladesh will not be affected by the franchise leagues, but separate teams have become a reality.
“I don’t think franchise tournament will not hurt us much as not many cricketers from Bangladesh play in those leagues. But yes, several matches are coming up. As you see, the players just came from West Indies and then went to Zimbabwe. Asia Cup is next, and then the World Cup. It is also difficult mentally. Therefore, we rest some of them from time to time, but yes, fielding an entirely separate team right after one match is becoming a reality which we can’t deny,” he told The Business Post.
Some of the experienced cricketers of the Bangladesh team might not be able to go through the next cycles of FTP, which could open new voids in the national team.
Habibul said it’s a natural process which will be taken care of naturally.
“Players will come and go, it’s a natural process. We have players in the pipeline. The young cricketers will play more as there are many matches in the FTP. They will play more and learn more,” said the selector.
