Is there a plan for domestic cricket?
"Do you know when domestic cricket is going to start again?''-- this is the one question that reporters covering Bangladesh cricket have been asked by domestic cricketers almost every other day over the past month or so.
Unfortunately there is no positive reply to the question, thanks to the lack of initiative from the cricket board.
Although the government lifted nationwide shutdown on May 31, prompting millions to head back to work, there are few professionals who have been unable to resume. Among those professionals, sports people are the foremost.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is desperate to get the national team back to international cricket through the tour of Sri Lanka and the BCB thinktank is working in earnest to make the tour happen, but unfortunately there is no apparent initiative on their part to start domestic cricket.
BCB president Nazmul Hassan did announce that the board would focus on starting domestic cricket after rejecting preliminary health protocol by Sri Lanka Cricket for touring the island nation, but there is still no definite planning or discussion being made by the board on how they would resume local cricket.
None of the BCB officials are sure of how they would maintain health protocol and provide a safe environment to resume domestic cricket. The officials were reluctant to make any comment on the issue.
It is true that the coronavirus situation in Bangladesh is still alarming and with the imminent threat of a second wave this winter, it will be a huge challenge for the BCB to tackle stage a return for domestic cricket.
There were talks that the BCB might arrange a tournament involving the national team, the A team and the High-Performance squad with participation of around 50 to 60 cricketers if the Tigers' tour of Sri Lanka eventually got cancelled. However according to sources, BCB is still keen to get the tour going. So what will happen to domestic cricketers if the Bangladesh team eventually tour Sri Lanka?
Even if the BCB organises a tournament with top players, it will not help the remaining 150-something domestic cricketers who would not be able to make it to the tournament and will have to sit idle with uncertainty.
The majority of the clubs of the Dhaka Premier League, which was halted in mid-March after the first round due to the pandemic, have their constraints and financial issues for not being able to resume the league at the moment.
With the uncertainty and financial constraints, life is getting more and more difficult for domestic cricketers and hence the BCB must act quickly to regain their faith.