BCB contemplating first-class participation mandatory for Test team selection

Bangladesh cricket first came into the limelight when they beat Pakistan in the 1999 Cricket World Cup. The team has had numerous moments to rejoice in the shorter formats- ODIs, and T20Is. In 2015, they also managed to qualify for the quarterfinal of the 50-overs tournament against India. However, their records in Test cricket isn’t something intriguing and they still have a fair distance to travel.

In 108 Tests thus far the Tigers have won only ten matches. Shakib Al Hasan and his men recently played the Test series against the Windies and slumped in both matches. In the light of improving the team’s performance, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is planning to make first-class cricket a mandate for a berth in the national Test team. Jalal Yunus, the BCB media committee chairman updated about its plans.

We have to develop the habit of playing long form cricket

“We must implement this policy from the upcoming edition of NCL and BCL. So far we have shown soft attitude towards it but now it is high time we change our stance because we have noticed that there are few players who are not interested to play long-version cricket.

Whenever it comes to playing first-class matches, our players come up with some kind of excuses to avoid it. We have got a long-standing policy that the players will not be considered for the national Test team unless they play domestic first-class cricket,” Yunus was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

Recently, the likes of Shakib and Mustafizur Rahman expressed their unwillingness to play the oldest version of the sport. The same is thought to one of the reasons behind BCB’s decision. The two players also missed this season’s Bangladesh Cricket League. Rather, they preferred plying their trade in the lucrative Indian Premier League.

“It just cannot go on because we have to develop the habit of playing long form cricket instead of just putting all our energy in the shorter formats. If you look at the Test result of our recent past it is surely quite alarming as we failed to prove our worth on several occasions and that is largely due to lack of skill and temperament,” the chairman added.

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