TROUBLE AT THE ROOTS

Lower-tier cricket in Bangladesh faces huge crisis

by Atif Azam • Last updated on

This apparent crisis at the lowest-division could create a paucity of talent in a few years. © Getty

The qualification round of Bangladesh's Third Division League ended on July 11 without a ball being bowled, exposing a huge problem in the bottom tier of the country's domestic cricket circuit.

Only two teams registered in this year's competition making the league a one-match affair but as the match could not be played at the Dhaka University venue due to rain, officials decided to pick the winner on the basis of toss.

Purbachal Sporting Club emerged as the champions by virtue of winning the toss, while Nababganj Cricket Academy earned the runners-up spot, but it was good enough for the latter to earn a place in the upcoming Third Division League.

The Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis, that is assigned to run club-based cricket by the Bangladesh Cricket Board, did not get any response from interested teams as they were unwilling to pay the exorbitant entry fee of Tk 500,000.

"We decided to choose the champions and runners-up on the basis of toss as only two teams participated in the tournament,' CCDM co-ordinator Amin Khan told Cricbuzz.

"As there was no third club to come up and challenge for a place, our officials spoke with representative of the two clubs at the venue and upon their approval we decided to choose the winner and loser on the basis of toss," he said.

The scenario is turning from bad to worse in the bottom tier of the country's cricket setup. The slide really began in 2015 after CCDM fixed Tk 5 lakh as entry fee for the competition, five times higher than that of previous season, leaving many aspirants to shelve their desire.

In the first season after the raise in entry fee by CCDM, no play was held as Dhaka Cricket Academy and the Axiom Cricketers qualified for the Third Division League without having to play. The following season there were three teams but in the last minute this season's champions Purbachal withdrew their name to make it a two-team affair. The only qualifying match in three seasons was won by Santinagar Cricket Club after they defeated Mohammadpur Cricket Club in the lone championship deciding match.

Cricket organisers blamed the exorbitant entry fees for the apparent lack of interest in the third division qualifying league. The tournament, which should be the first exposure in competitive cricket for many young talents in the country, used to be a fest for the aspiring cricketers before that exorbitant fee was imposed.

The commercially-run local cricket academies were hit hard by the decision as the competition was the only platform for their pupils to taste themselves at the competitive level. To make things tougher, the BCB also set few conditions, which includes among others, that participating teams must not be named after any commercial organsiation, that they must have a constitution and must be registered by relevant government authorities and that they should own a permanent address.

"It is very difficult to fulfill all these criterion for a club that is playing the qualifying league," said a former national cricketer Tarek Aziz, who was engaged in managing a qualifying side but had to give it up all together since BCB introduced new sets of criterion.

Tarek, who also runs a Dhaka based cricket academy and once always sought an opportunity to play the league to see the growth of his academy students, said that if BCB didn't look after the matter immediately, it wouldn't take long to feel the pinch as there would be an acute shortage of players in the coming days.

"Definitely if this trend continues we will have shortage of players in the next five to seven years," he said.

"It is the first platform for the budding cricketers as this gives them the opportunity to have a taste of competitive cricket for the first time. If we prevent them we are bound to suffer in the coming days," he added.

© Cricbuzz

TAGS