Uncertainty looms: What will Bangladesh cricketers do during T20 World Cup?

“There is a ground close to my home. I go there and try to maintain my fitness. There is no news of any matches!”

Where he was supposed to be and where he is now; where he was meant to play and where he is currently playing! Does this not all sound rather confusing?

The confusion disappears once it is revealed that the speaker was a member of Bangladesh’s 15-member squad for the ICC T20 World Cup. The Bangladeshi cricketer did not wish to be named.

However, even without disclosing his identity, his frustration reflects the current stagnation in Bangladesh cricket.

The Bangladesh national cricket team was supposed to be in Bengaluru, India, preparing for the T20 World Cup and playing warm-up matches.

However, due to security concerns, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) did not want to send the team to India for the tournament.

As a result, the International Cricket Council (ICC) replaced Bangladesh with Scotland in the World Cup.

Conversations held Tuesday with several cricketers who had been selected for Bangladesh’s World Cup squad revealed that some are staying in their village homes, while others are spending their time off in Dhaka.

The shock of missing out on the World Cup appears to have affected the entire cricketing structure of the country.

A visit to the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur around 12:00 pm on Tuesday revealed that the academy ground, usually the only place where national players prepare, was completely devoid of activity.

No fitness training was observed either, an extremely rare sight at the academy ground. Apart from a few ground staff cutting grass, there was no visible activity during the afternoon.

It was not only the academy ground. There was no sign of cricketers anywhere in Mirpur yesterday, Tuesday.

Even among the officials and staff who regularly work at the BCB headquarters in Mirpur, there was a noticeable lack of urgency.

Conversations with several of them indicated that, as national cricket slows down, their workload has also decreased.

During this time, a discussion was held with a BCB director. When asked whether everything had come to a standstill, he replied gravely, on condition of anonymity, “Everyone is essentially waiting for the national elections. Different people have different interests. Everything will become clear only after the elections. That is why everyone prefers to remain quiet for now.”

It is not that there is no cricket activity at all. Yesterday, Tuesday, BCB directors attended the opening ceremony of the CCDM Challenge Cup T20 at the National Cricket Stadium in Purbachal.

However, this tournament is effectively an attempt to keep cricket going through temporary arrangements. Domestic cricket has long been facing uncertainty due to club boycotts.

This season, eight clubs have boycotted First Class cricket. In response to players demands, the CCDM T20 Challenge Cup is being organised using players from those boycotting clubs.

This uncertainty is not limited to First Class cricket. Instability in Dhaka club cricket began immediately after the election of the current BCB board.

Declaring the board “illegal”, 48 clubs announced that they would not participate in any cricket organised under the present administration.

As a result, First and Second Division competitions have been held without nearly half of the clubs. Consequently, the uncertainty has now engulfed the Dhaka Premier League, the country’s most prestigious domestic tournament and one of the main sources of income for Bangladeshi cricketers, where nine of the 12 clubs are in favour of a boycott.

This instability has had a direct impact on players. During a press conference in the Bangladesh Premier League, national team Test captain Najmul Hossain stated that he was “concerned” about the uncertainty surrounding Bangladesh cricket. He was even unable to recall when the next match would be played.

Taking national team players into consideration, the BCB has been considering organising a new tournament.

Abu Emam Mohammed Kawsar, manager of the BCB tournament committee, said, “We had plans to organise the Bangladesh Cricket League differently. But since the national team will not be participating in the World Cup, we will now have to revise those plans.”

It has been learnt that during the period of the T20 World Cup in February, matches of the one-day version of the Bangladesh Cricket League will be held, while the four-day matches are scheduled to take place in April.