Tamim Iqbal Confirms New Tournament in Bangladesh

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB)has been in the process of an architectural change in its domestic circuit with the inception of the 2 nd XI Championship. This new move is intended to increase playing opportunities for cricketers not part of the national team and fortify the country’s overall cricket system.

The plans were confirmed by Tamim Iqbal who is now the President of the BCB. The new competition will serve as a feeder for the National Cricket League the nation’s premier red-ball tournament.

Increased opportunities for domestic players

The current structure according to Tamim is one where only a limited number of cricketers are being accommodated. He stated that the nationally contracted cricketers play across formats and tournaments like BPL, BCL, and NCL.

“If you look at the design of Bangladesh cricket you will see that maximum cricket is being centered around just one segment of players. One segment of players are playing BPL, BCL and NCL. One segment of players are getting the chance to play 5-6 tournaments.”

Players who represent the lower division teams he said were not being sufficiently nurtured.

“But those who play the third division, second division or first division there are no other tournaments for them except to play the third division, second division and first division itself. Hence we haven’t produced so many players through the second or third division and brought them into the national team in the history of Bangladesh cricket because we were never able to create the platform.”

The introduction of the new 2nd XI Championship seeks to plug this loophole by offering players a larger platform.

Structure and benefits of the new system

Tamim said that all the teams playing in the National Cricket League will have two squads, the First XI and the Second XI. This will boost participation.

“From now on when the NCL starts we will have Chittagong first XI and second XI. We will have Dhaka first XI and second XI and similarly for all the teams… When we introduce the Second XI, what we are doing is we are introducing roughly another 100-150 or 200 cricketers into the mix.”

The system will also benefit the returning players. Tamim cited the example of Taskin Ahmed stating that it would give a cricketer returning from an injury a gradual build-up to match fitness.

“Let me give an example; When Taskin Ahmed gets injured after his return from injury we give him a first-class match and tell him not to bowl more than 6 overs. How should these rules and regulations be imposed on a first-class game? Taskin Ahmed would play second XI; where he can make a build-up slowly. Looking at the example of Jofra Archer his first game was in the second XI when he returned from injury.”

Tamim added that he alongside other stakeholders were looking at introducing the competition soon.“So we have all made a collective decision and Inshallah we will start from this season itself.”

This article first appeared on CricketGully and was syndicated with permission.

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