Dhaka— Three veteran national cricketers and domestic campaigners who have failed to score 11 in fitness test ahead of the National Cricket League (NCL) 2019 are likely to get tickets to participate in the event.
National selector Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Habibul Bashar Sumon hinted this on Sunday.
Tushar Imran, Abdur Razzak and Mohammad Ashraful, among the senior cricketers who have failed to score required 11 in the beep test, are likely have chance to play in the ensuing NCL.
Tushar scored 10.1 in the test, Razzak and Ashraful ended on 10. All of these players have scored fewer in the previous test.
“We are considering age, performance and fitness to include a player in the NCL, We have received the result of the players who had the test for the second time,
We may consider some senior guys in NCL despite not meeting the desired fitness level this time but not for future,” Habibul Bashar told UNB on Sunday.
Since some senior guys have been performing well in NCL over the years, Habibul hinted that the selection committee might take a decision in their favour this time.
Tushar, who has played 117 First-class matches and scored 11433 with 31 centuries – both are the national records of scoring most first-class runs and hitting most centuries in first-class cricket- also said that they are also expecting favour from BCB.
“I improved my beep test result. I ended on 10.1 today which is better than my previous test. I hope the selectors will select me for the NCL team considering my performance and age,” Tushar told media on Sunday.
Razzak, who bagged 581 scalps with 38 five-for in his 128 First-class matches, also echoed Tushar. According to Razzak, had the selectors set the benchmark of 11 in beep test two months earlier, that would have been easier for the players to take the preparation of the most prestigious first-class event of the country.
“It was better today. I did well in the beep test than my previous test,” Razzak told the media on Sunday at the indoor practice ground in Mirpur. “Fitness is the most important thing for professional cricketers because you cannot do well without having a good quality of fitness.”
Razzak also said that the board can consider a training camp involving the players who are capable of playing NCL ahead of every new domestic season. According to him, this camp will help the cricketers to look after their fitness before starting a long cricketing year.
“We have many fitness trainers in BCB. Now if the board will arrange a long camp ahead of a new season, it will help us a lot. It is just a matter of the right decision. At the same time, it will help the trainers to set the right beep test target for each and every player. It is clear that scoring 11 in beep for the players my age is really tough,” Razzak added.
Like Tushar and Razzak, Ashraful also failed to touch the bar of 11 in beep test but the former national team captain is hopeful to get better by the times ahead.
“I did well today. I believe it will get better day by day. Everyone who had the test today did well. We used to not take the national league so seriously before, but from now, everyone will be aware of fitness and everything,” Ashraful told the reporters on Sunday.
The 21st edition of the national cricket league will kick off on October 10 throughout the country in four different venues. A total of eight teams will participate in the event and the games will be played under two tiers.UNB
