Bangladesh players to take part in first-class tournament before India series
Bangladesh cricketers are set to take part in the country’s first-class tournament, the National Cricket League (NCL), as part of their preparations for the India series. After their humbling by Afghanistan at home, Bangladesh is scheduled to open their Test championship campaign against India.
It seems that the 224-run defeat at the hands of rivals Afghanistan has woken up the Bangladeshi team management. National selector Habibul Bashar has confirmed that all available players of the national team squad will have to play in the opening two rounds of the NCL tournament this time around, as they prepare to take India on in two Test matches.
"Without any valid reason, no one will be allowed to skip NCL. Suppose someone has hamstring injury or broke a finger, then it is something for consideration but without these reasons, we will not entertain other explanation as everyone will have to play the NCL. It is a different case for players who are playing in the foreign leagues. But some players take leave showing family issues or for the purpose of travelling but these things won't be tolerated this time," Bashar said, reported Cricbuzz.
While skipper Shakib Al Hasan and Liton Das are currently playing in the Caribbean Premier League, some members of the Test squad are featuring for Bangladesh A against their Sri Lankan counterparts. The reasons for a zero-tolerance approach is plain as none of the Bangladeshi players looked ready for the longest version of the game against Afghanistan.
"They [national cricketers] need to make the best use of NCL as it will provide them with an opportunity to spend some time in the middle and they must make that into a habit, as we have seen some of our leading batsmen were unable to do it against Afghanistan," Bashar said.
"From a bowling perspective, unless you can take the load of the long-version of cricket, it will be difficult to shine as a bowling unit in Test matches. Because playing here will help them to learn how to be patient," he said.
Meanwhile, BCB cricket operation chairman Akram Khan confirmed that the preparation camp ahead of the tour of India will start from October 25, with their newly appointed bowling consultant Daniel Vettori set to join the team there.
"We will start our preparation camp for the upcoming India series from October 25 and he (Vettori) will be available from the start of the camp as he is coming before that," Akram said.
White-ball batting consultant Neil McKenzie will continue to guide the side in the opening Test against India.
"McKenzie will come and he will stay during the first Test against India [ as the batting consultant]. We are trying to have him both with red and white ball game because it will be good for our team," Akram added.