25/06/2024
I am sorry for Bangladesh Cricket and those who played against the “Spirit of Cricket” yesterday. I am sorry for Australia but very happy for Afghanistan cricket. People are talking about Team Tigers' approach to the game yesterday. Yes, they should have gone all the way to win the match. Whether we win or not is a different subject. At the same time, pretending to be a muscle pull drama! Did that help Afghanistan? Yes, or not! I don’t believe in “ifs and buts” in cricket. Why did Australia end up relying on this game? It's unfortunate as they are a solid and mature team. What does it say about the future of cricket? Is change coming and is the domination of decades ending? Yes or not, but not necessarily with Aus but many others? So, we need to get our act together before it is too late!
Why are we all talking about the Tigers so negatively even though they have won three 1st round games and qualified for the Super 8? Is it for the buildup towards the T20 WC, inconsistent performance, inappropriate talks, high expectations, weak management, lack of understanding from the board about development, weak pipeline, leadership, etc.? It seems players are losing respect from the general population. But why are we putting ourselves in this situation? Does this mean it requires a full revolt from A-Z? Do we think changing the coach, some management, and a few players will resolve the problem? Or does it require a full cricket cultural revolution where everyone needs to understand why we are playing cricket from the grassroots to the international level, and learn about respect and discipline?
People talk about BCB having a huge reserve. If only money could do everything, then China could have been one of the top cricketing nations. Cricket development requires sacrifice, commitment, an understanding of the game and development, an understanding of sports psychology, an understanding of high performance, an understanding of coaching, an understanding of how to spend money on cricket development and where to invest, needs lots of volunteers, and overall, the President, CEO, and head of all departments need to understand the game and give powers to the professionals to run the game. Most importantly, all first-class teams should have full setups from under 13 to the first-class team, including an academy in each division to run the professionals with everyone running a high-performance program. School cricket and age group cricket should go to the district level, coordinated by a school cricket association (new forum). All districts should get support from BCB only if they fulfil their targets of running school cricket, club cricket, and age group cricket. An under-15 player should play a minimum of 20 matches, and those in divisional and national squads should play 40-45 competitive matches per year. The standard of umpiring needs to be high, and there need to be lots of volunteer umpires running junior cricket. Please allow 7 years to get the results even if you start all of the above tomorrow. So, you will understand how long it may take to find another Shakib, Tamim, Mushi, Riyad, Mash, or Fiz. Not sure if I made you understand the complexity of appropriate development! But this is possible. It's not rocket science.
Fans are the heart of sports, so be with the fans and you will get all the encouragement and motivation! I still love Bangladesh Cricket : The Tigers and will be with them always if I can do anything..We will be back strongly one day....
