Great triumph, but what next?

Nobody wants to hear something out of tune in times of joyful celebration. The Akbar Ali-led Bangladesh Under-19 team has captivated the cricket-mad nation with a World Cup triumph in South Africa. Cricket always brings people in the country together and they embrace any achievement of the cricketers from the bottom of their hearts and there was no exception when the young Tigers sealed the country’s famous success with a three-wicket victory against their Indian counterparts in the ICC Under-19 World Cup.

The success has come at the ideal time for Bangladesh cricket and it’s brought a breath of fresh air amid all the doom and gloom following the senior team’s one shocking defeat after another across all formats since the last year’s disappointing ICC World Cup campaign in England, champion all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan’s two-year ban and alleged corruption in lower-tier cricket.

Without any doubt, Test cricket has more weight than a global age-level tournament but there were not many following the Bangladesh-Pakistan Rawalpindi Test on that day. While the young cricketers put on a spirited display in Potchefstroom, their senior fellows exhibited another meek surrender to Pakistan at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium before suffering an innings and 44-run defeat in the first Test. The fans have become fed up with the repeated failures of the national side. 

So, the young Tigers’ success is significant in more ways than one.

Success has not come overnight. There has been much talk of the reasons behind the triumph and it was a well-designed long-term plan that formed a team into a good unit. We must salute those unsung heroes who tirelessly worked to groom these young cricketers at the grassroots level and those local and foreign staff who prepared the team to execute their plan in the middle.

Sometimes a small thing can have a big impact. It was a good initiative by the board’s game development committee when they sent the team to Bogura for fine-tuning their skills with the aim of providing players a slight taste of South African conditions as the grassy surface aided pacers, offering seam movement and bounce, apart from arranging a number of international series home and abroad.

It was ultimately a good management plan that brought all the pieces together to help the team accomplish the goal, much like England did with their four-year plan to end their long wait for World Cup glory. So, the BCB high-ups deserve praise for the young Tigers’ success. 

There is however a stark contrast in what has been happening with the national team or domestic tournaments. Were there any specific plans and aim, instead of banking only on the experience of the Big Five before the ICC World Cup in England? Are there any specific goals with the domestic structure? Is it a good sign to cry out for long-term planning after spending so many years as a Test side? Is it possible to achieve desired results at the senior level by arranging a first-class tournament with 10 or seven days’ notice?    

Is our thinking clear regarding next T20 World Cup or 2023 World?

Akbar Ali’s team’s success probably provided food for thought for the people who are at the helm of Bangladesh cricket.

Undoubtedly the young cricketers showed a lot of promises but one cannot deny one fact: there is a gulf of difference between senior and age-level cricket. The biggest question is how the authority will fill the big gap in order to make many from this squad into future cricketers of the country.    

It would be tragic if the question is raised: where are those champs, where are their spirit in the senior level?

It would be fantastic if we can celebrate the occasion keeping our eyes on the future.