A total of 50 male, five female and as many differently-abled spinners were chosen from all across the country for the five-day long residential Robi camp to be held in Mirpur's Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, starting on Thursday.
A press conference was held at SBNS on Wednesday where the organisers announced the details of the campaign and its possible outcome.
BCB vice-president and chairman of the High Performance committee, Mahbub Anam informed that they are satisfied with the response and are happy with the skill level exhibited by the spinners ahead of the final phase of the competition.
“Besides orthodox right- and left-arm spinners, we have got some fantastic unorthodox spinners too. I have heard of a chinaman bowler who I think will be a wonderful addition to our cricket. Till date, Bangladesh are yet to see a chinaman bowler in mainstream cricket,” Anam told the media on Wednesday.
“The best part of the campaign is that we have been able to reach out for spinners across the 64 districts of the country. This has revitalised our cricket in the grass-root level. We are confident that at the end of this competition, we will be able to present a group of potential spinning options for our male and female teams,” he said.
Bangladesh tasted a lot of success in recent times largely owing to their spinners. There was a time not so long ago in the country’s cricket when the left-arm spinners ruled both the domestic and international scene.
However, the same cannot be said of the unorthodox spinners. Not only in the national team but in domestic cricket as well, the teams are defensive and often overlook the leg-spinners, given that they might prove to be expensive on a day.
When queried if such thinking can mar the effort of the spinners who will emerge from the competition, Anam said, “I totally agree to that. We have always been defensive towards the leg-spinners. The unorthodox spinners can be expensive giving away runs for which we often overlook them. I believe this has come from our defensive mentality. But I hope it will change soon and that the teams start thinking attacking.”
The first phase of the competition was held in 64 districts in association with the District Sports Associations of the respective districts. At the end of the first phase, 928 male and 72 female spinners were selected.
All the selected athletes then took part in the second phase of the campaign held in 10 divisional level cities. The spinners who were selected for the second phase will join the final phase of the competition.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
