Mixed bag on one Test less
Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB's) proposal of cutting down a Test match from the bilateral series against Zimbabwe in January has drawn mixed responses from former national cricketers.
Last week, the BCB's cricket operations committee chairman Naimur Rahman had said that the board had thought about the new proposal keeping in mind the Asia Cup T20 and World T20, scheduled to take place after the series.
Test captain Mushfiqur Rahim too voiced his support to the proposal last Thursday citing fatigue issues.
Bangladesh's first Test centurion, Aminul Islam, though believes that the BCB should re-think their stance.
"We always go everywhere and say that we have to play more Tests. And the move that we want to take now is in contrast to that. If you see our position at the moment, we are still learners in this format. Honestly speaking if you see the reality, there is a good chance for us to win this Test series and that would have been really good for us," Aminul told The Daily Star over phone yesterday.
"I have been working in this line for a while. If you see world cricket, the shorter version of the game is driven by money and I personally don't think it helps much in the development of the game. Test match is a test of everything. If we do well in this format, players will automatically improve in the T20s and the 50-over format," he added.
In the same vein, Bangladesh's former opener Athar Ali Khan admitted that he was a bit confused with the path the BCB was planning to take.
"I don't understand why we are going towards this path? Why won't we play more Tests when it's there in the schedule? I understand that we are thinking in terms of the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup, but why miss an opportunity? I have also read that there is a fatigue factor, and I for one, don't want to see any injuries; but I still feel that we should not let go of this chance," said Athar.
"I firmly believe that we should not let this go from our hand. I think they should think of playing three Tests instead of two," he asserted.
On the other hand, former national cricketer Gazi Ashraf Hossain was of a different opinion.
"Before the Zimbabwe series, these players will be playing a number of domestic tournaments. So I think considering that scenario, the BCB has taken a good decision.
"The fatigue factor is important. I think seven to eight players from our national side play in all the three formats. The team management has to assess how much each player has played in order to expect the optimum level of performance from the players," said Gazi Ashraf.
Former national cricketer Roquibul Hasan shared a similar sentiment.
"Since the tournament is taking place right before the World T20, I think this was a very well thought out decision. I don't think there is much of a difference between playing two and three Tests.
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