Western glow, east pale

Bangladesh’s 78 Test players have come from 29 districts across the country. The 35 other districts are yet to bring up a Test cricketer but to have almost half the country produce cricketers good enough to play the game at the highest level is a commendable effort for a country that became a Test nation only 15 years ago.

In a nationwide study, Dhaka Tribune has found out that the regions producing most number of top cricketers are Khulna and Rajshahi. There are plenty of local tournaments being played at different levels in these two divisions, especially Khulna which has off late taken up the mantle of Bangladesh cricket’s factory from Rajshahi. The 35 districts that haven’t produced a Test cricketer so far mostly are from the Chittagong, Sylhet, Barisal and Dhaka divisions. The lack of infrastructure and tournaments were seen as major reasons for them lagging behind in producing major players. The far-flung Rangpur region has come up with some Test players while the districts under the newly-formed Mymensingh division are also showing encouraging signs. In a recent Dhaka Tribune report, it was found that the Dhaka city, considered the most important place in Bangladesh cricket, produces fewer top quality cricketers due to relatively lesser interest in the sport. The contribution of Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan (BKSP) is also invaluable to Bangladesh cricket. The country’s first Test captain Naimur Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Abdur Razzak, Nasir Hossain are some of many cricketers who learned the game properly in this sports institute.The success storiesKhulna can be called the champion in terms of producing Test cricketers. Nine out of the ten districts in the region have produced at least one Test player, the exception being Chuadanga. These players include Shakib Al Hasan, Mashrafe bin Mortaza, Abdur Razzak and former Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar. Among the recent talent to come out of this region are the sensational Mustafizur Rahman and the stylish Soumya Sarkar. According to Khulna coach Kazi Emdadul Bashar, the will power of cricketers and the strong age-group activities are what has helped these players to improve over the last two decades. “Khulna has been a hub of quality cricketers for Bangladesh and the determination and hard work from the cricketers of this region is the key behind the success. We also have a good age-level activities along with many local tournaments taking place in Khulna helped tremendously to produce more players,” said Bashar. “At the same time since Mustafizur Rahman and Soumya Sarkar came to the scene more youngsters from the remote areas are willing to play cricket which is a very good sign. I think Khulna will continue to produce more international players for the country in the coming days,” he added. Rajshahi come in second these days in terms of international player production, though they are still the highest providers when it comes to the domestic scene. Four out of eight districts of the Rajshahi region have produced nine Test players including legendary wicketkeeper and former captain Khaled Mashud and the current Test captain Mushfiqur Rahim. Players coming from Rajshahi are often known to be hard working but according to Mashud, lack of tournaments and some issues within the District Sports Association (DSA) have caused trouble for Rajshahi recently. “Rajshahi has always produced quality cricketers in the past but recently I observed that the number of tournaments have decreased comparing to the past. We used to play a lot of matches all over the year which helped us to improve,” said Mashud. “Another fact is that there is no relegation system in the local league in the past few years. When you don’t have the competition where you may get relegated, then automatically there will be no challenge both among the players and officials. “I think the board needs to welcome young and new faces who actually want to help and develop the cricket of this region. Then I am sure Rajshahi will produce more quality players in future,” he added. Dhaka has produced 12 Test cricketers but not many in the present. According to coaches, this is due to the lack of interest in the game and the general lack of field in the city. Among the districts in Dhaka division, Narayanganj’s cricket culture has helped them find Test cricketers. Faridpur has had two, Kishoreganj and Manikganj one each. But Gazipur, Gopalganj, Madaripur, Narsingdi, Rajbari, Shariatpur and Tangail haven’t produced a single Test player.The disappointing trioBarisal have the most disappointing figures among the eight divisions in the country. Their six districts have so far produced only two Test cricketers but both Shahriar Nafees and Sohag Gazi got their advanced lessons in the game in Dhaka and Khulna respectively. Nafees said that Barisal was late in developing the infrastructure which has been the main reason for their lack of progress. “You see after the 17th or 18th edition of the National Cricket League we became the champion for the first time and the main reason is that Barisal was late to flourish due to the infrastructural development,” said Nafees. “It is getting better and there are players coming from this region at the age-level. But we have to remember we are talking about national team not a zonal team and it’s natural that you won’t have players from every district,” he added. According to Barisal coach Tasrikul Islam, the lack of interest in the DSA is why they are not getting players from this region. “There is hardly any activities in Barguna, Jhalokathi and Pirojpur. Even the facilities are not up to the mark. In the rainy season, there are no activities from the players as there are no indoor facilities available in those regions,” said Tasrikul. Chittagong is another disappointment given how their initial contribution to Bangladesh cricket. They have produced the likes of Akram Khan and Minhazul Abedin and lately Nafees and Tamim Iqbal. But the south-eastern region of the country is now struggling to produce cricketers where apart from Chittagong district, Comilla and Cox’s Bazar there were no Test cricketers from the remaining eight of the eleven districts within Chittagong division. There has also never been even a first-class cricketer from the hill-track districts like Bandarban, Rangamati and Khagrachhari. Chittagong coach Mominul Haque said that the region suffers from lack of cricket tournaments, and that most of the activities are based on the port city. But he pointed out at least two districts who are getting serious about the game. “There were very few cricketing activities in this region. The other districts apart from Chittagong did not have enough facilities and it was totally based on the Chittagong city. But things have started to improve as we are now getting players from Feni and Noakhali at the age-levels,” said Haque. “We have to emphasis on the remote areas where we must have standard facilities for the players to develop their skills and also continue the leagues every year,” he added. At one time, Sylhet were producing Test cricketers rapidly but they stopped for a long time after Enamul Haque Jnr’s debut, with their last Test debutant being paceman Abul Hasan. They also have a problem similar to those in Chittagong and Barisal: lack of cricketing activities in the districts. Former Bangladesh captain Rajin Saleh has urged the BCB to take this division more seriously as they took it in the past. “There are hardly any cricketing facilities in Sunamganj, Moulvibazar and Habiganj. There were no league in these regions for some time now. If there’s a league in Sylhet only the locals of the district can take part where the players even from Moulvibazar are not allowed to play,” said Rajin. “However there are some personal initiatives being taken. I arrange a camp every year where we all contribute and practise but if the board give us the opportunity and provide us the facilities, the former players have the ability to bring up more high-quality cricketers for the future,” said Rajin.The promising northRangpur has already produced five Test cricketers from three districts out of the eight in their division. Kurigram, Nilphamari, Panchagarh, Thakurgaon and Lalmonirhat can get better in the coming days if the facilities are provided by local organisers. The newest division, Mymensingh, have also produced seven Test cricketers including Mahmudullah Riyad, but this region too lacks proper facilities. The leagues are irregular too. One way to improve smaller regions like Rangpur and Mymensingh is to tell them to develop their first-class teams. Rangpur is already quite good and Mymensigh, where the league this season has been held properly, are willing to be part of the National Cricket League.