Bangladesh Cricket Board director and chairman of the game development committee, Khaled Mahmud said it was belief that drove the Bangladesh U-19 team to the ultimate success and finish as champion in the just concluded U-19 World Cup 2020 in South Africa.
The young Tigers Sunday stunned the world with a convincing three-wicket [Duckworth/Lewis/Stern method] victory over four-time champion India U-19 in the final at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom.
Bangladesh U-19 finished as the unbeaten champion and earned the country its first title in a major men’s cricket event.
The journey towards the historic occasion started two years back with a plan drawn up by BCB game development committee under the supervision of former Bangladesh captain Mahmud.
The plan was simple; to get these young Bangladesh cricketers match experience going into the U-19 World Cup.
However, this required approval and funds from the BCB, which was granted without mush hassle.
Coming into the tournament, Bangladesh played 30 youth ODIs over a span of two years, winning 18 times.
An ice-cold performance from captain Akbar Ali dragged the @BCBtigers U-19 cricket team to a historic first U-19 @cricketworldcup, as they beat @BCCI U-19 in the final of the 2020 edition at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom Sundayhttps://t.co/ZXThW5gcSY#BCBTIGERS #BCB #TIGERS #BCCI
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) February 9, 2020
The young Tigers registered wins against England, and won series in Sri Lanka and New Zealand.
Bangladesh went into the 16-team competition with high hopes as they had the second best win percentage, after India, for teams to have played 15 or more games.
“I always feel that our boys play good cricket at this level. We always have a good chance to bring out results, particularly in the U-19 level. The players at this level are well motivated with good skill and fitness. Our U-19 teams never played a good number of matches going into the World Cup and that held them back from gaining match experience,” said Mahmud to Dhaka Tribune over phone from South Africa Monday.
“But for this U-19 World Cup, we proposed a plan to the board [two years back] and after receiving the green signal, we offered different teams to play matches with us. Board was always supportive of the U-19 team with the tours as it required big funds. At home, we got good facilities to use and I would like to thank grounds committee chairman Mahbubul Anam. He was supportive towards us in all aspects,” said former Bangladesh all-rounder Mahmud.
“So it has been a joint effort, by the players, officials and the board. We had a goal going forward to this event and there was an honest belief on this team. We knew we have the ability to play the final but it is amazing that we finished as champion,” he added.
With the nation’s attention glued to the television sets as Bangladesh U-19 progressed to the ultimate stage of the tournament, a few players emerged as household names overnight.
Speaking of which, Bangladesh U-19 captain Akbar Ali is one name that has come under the limelight besides a few others.
@BCBtigers ODI captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza and wicketkeeper-batsman @mushfiqur15 were all praise for the U-19 team who created history by winning the U-19 @cricketworldcup after beating @BCCI by three wickets at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom Sunday.https://t.co/kyxK4F5cXB#BCB
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) February 10, 2020
Akbar was key behind Bangladesh’s historic win against India as he registered a championship winning 43 not out under pressure following a mini batting debacle.
A general sentiment is that the cricketers who have performed admirably should now be considered for the national team, but Mahmud begs to differ.
Mahmud emphasized on the importance of grooming these players before they’re considered for the national team.
He said they are mulling a second string BCB High Performance team to accommodate as many young cricketers as possible.
“I had a small meeting with HP coach Champaka [Ramanayake] before coming to South Africa. Most of these players will surely now go to the HP team but there are more players, and not only these 15, who played the World Cup. We do not want to lose these players but it is also a fact that it becomes difficult for a coach to deal with a team of more than 20 players. So we are thinking of having a second string HP team with a set of another 20 players with a different set of coaches. We do not want these players to get sidelined. We want to ensure they get the best of the training facilities,” said Mahmud.
“I think it is better to give these young players time to groom but then again if you think about it, we had Tamim [Iqbal], Shakib [al Hasan], Mushfiqur [Rahim] coming straight into the national team right after they played U-19. They are world heroes now. They were just 19 years old when they first played for the national team.
“But they also took five to seven years to spread their wings. The problem is we give very limited opportunities to the new players. We decide if a player is good or bad after seeing them play just a few games, particularly in the national team. That way, we lose a good number of players. So thinking that way, it is better to give these young players some time and experience playing for HP and A team and get the maturity before being considered for the national team.
“But there can be exceptions. If we think that someone from these young players have the ability and are match-winners, they can be tried for the national set-up. But that should be in limited amount,” he concluded.
