ICL and our cricket

Bangladesh cricket was catapulted into world stage when they were just teething in 1998 and was producing competitive cricketers like Aminul, Akram, Nannu, Naimur Rahman Durjoy, Rafique, Pilot, Bashar etc. Lots of people opposed our entry into Test cricket. But at that time it was a decision that had to be taken. After all, you may not get a man like Dalmiya from Kolkata as ICC chief in the next 50 years. Another good thing happened in the period 2002-2005. Call him anything you like, but give the devil its due. Arafat Rahman Koko, the former PM's son, became the chairman of Development Committee of Cricket. He pumped in corporate funds to develop an under-19 squad that included Mohammed Ashraful, Aftab Ahmed, Shahriyar Nafees, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan, Shahdat Hossain Rajib, Syed Rasel and Mehrab Hossain jr. Now they are all in the national side, aren't they? The guys who took the pains in creating all these greenhorns into internationals was an Aussie coach, Richard McInnes. He had become the supplier of great talents like Tamim, Roquibul,Abdur Razzak, Nazimuddin and others to be given the finishing by a seasoned Whatmore and see what happened in the ICC Cup in the West Indies. The coach is still grooming great guns like Nayeem Islam, Suhrawardy Shuvo, Arafat Sunny, Zunaed Siddique, Ziaur Rahman, Shamsur Rahman Shuvo, Nasir Hossain, Mahmudul Hasan and so on. You will soon see them in the national ODI and Test squads.
The dynamism of professional cricket permits players to get in and out of the national teams depending on their performances at a given point of time. Professional cricket players often bunk national calls to play in English League or IPL or Australian Pura Cup (all professional leagues and highly paid). I remember Jacques Kallis not playing against BD and Zim in Tests for SA because he had contracts with his county side in the UK. Similar was the case with Gibbs, Martin Crowe, Michael Vaughn. It happens all the time in other countries. I don't see any reason behind the present brouhaha when 13 players opted out for ICL. Rafique and Taposh were already out of contention. Bashar didn't look so set for playing in the coming Test matches against NZ. Shahriyar Nafees looked tentative and it seems has lost his confidence as an opener which he had back in 2006 because of competition from Nazimudin, Zunaed, Tamim, Mehrab jr, Imrul Kayes etc. Alok and Dhiman have given up the hope to represent the national team for God knows what! I can understand Farhad Reza, Mahbubul Karim and a few other nondescripts reneging.
Anyway, the way everybody reacted made one believe that were traitors and turncoats! Really, that's a bit too much. What would you then say about the thousands of immigrant lawyers, doctors, professors, engineers and accountants who studied in this country and for whom the state paid "Kari-kari" takas. Traitors? In an increasingly globalized world, one cannot take these allegations seriously.
Time to also cut down the salary and perks of the BCB officials. Their performances should be reviewed as to how much progress has been made through graph sheets since winning a few matches in the ICC World Cup. They should also come and give their financial statements (how much taxpayer's money is spent to keep these white elephants in circulation?). After all, BCB posts have become a sweet niche for retired no-good players, wannabe politicians and businessmen with no connection to cricket except for grabbing the expensive VIP boxes during Test matches. Also, the selection committee doesn't need to be so grandiloquently powerful. A selection for a calendar year is good enough. Set up a panel of expert committees consisting of former cricketers to review the faults and weaknesses of the team after a disastrous tour.