Plans for U-19 champs on hold
There is no denying what the world has endured in the past few months will leave a lasting impact. That is also true of the country's cricket, which like other sports has been halted since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Just before the unprecedented halt in proceedings, the Akbar Ali-led Bangladesh Under-19 side had scripted the brightest achievement in the nation's cricketing history -- winning the ICC Under-19 World Cup in February. The cubs' triumph in South Africa's Potchefstroom not only indicated a bright future for Bangladesh's cricket but it also led to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) making plans to groom the young Tigers to help them carry their age-level success to the international stage.
However, the chairman of the game development committee Khaled Mahmud, who was one of the architects of the' success, said even though there were plans to be made, the coronavirus pandemic prompted the BCB to delay them.
"We were supposed to make a plan for the Akbar Ali batch but the coronavirus situation has delayed everything. Actually, we had planned to keep this batch in Australia for five months or at least keep them on foreign turf for most of the year. Our plan was to keep them in foreign countries like England where they could stay for, say, 8-12 weeks and play matches there. It would have given them the idea of foreign conditions and they would also have had some match practice. It is not possible this year, but we hope that we could arrange for such camps in the coming year after the coronavirus situation comes under control," Mahmud told The Daily Star.
After the triumph of the Under-19 side, the BCB had decided to include the champion players on a two-year contract, during which period the players would receiving a monthly remuneration of Tk 1 lakh each. Mahmud mentioned that the reason behind this initiative was to try and maintain the unity, which was the ultimate mantra behind this batch's success.
The execution of all those plans to develop the young Tigers will now have to wait for at least the beginning of next year as Mahmud said it would probably not be possible for the BCB to work with the cubs anymore this year.
"I don't think we will be able to work with them anymore this year. Even if the coronavirus situation subsides, we have a lot of scheduled matches and tournaments like the DPL to be played. In this situation, it will be really difficult to arrange any camps for them. Everything is uncertain now. We actually cannot make any plans as we do not know when the situation will be normal. But if it becomes normal, we will try to make plans for them in the coming year," said Mahmud.
If not for the pandemic, the players would now probably have been honing their skills in a well-arranged foreign environment and stepped up their preparations for a transition to the next level. But the pandemic has dealt the country's cricketing future a blow in the form of the delayed development of the young Tigers.