Bangladesh men鈥檚 national team鈥檚 2-0 defeat to Sri Lanka in the two-match Test series saw their preparations criticised, which led to skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto saying that it would be better for them if there were series for Bangladesh A teams before the national team takes the field.
Bangladesh were clean swept against Sri Lanka on the back of their subpar batting display as they failed to score 200 in three of their four innings.
鈥榃hat seems to be the most effective to me is that before we go to play an overseas series, the A team goes there. Then if players who only play Tests can play a few matches, then the preparation will be good,鈥� Shanto said after the second Test in Chattogram.
The A team, commonly referred to as the national team鈥檚 subsidiary, prepares players before they head into international cricket.
Former Bangladesh national team selector Habibul Bashar shared a similar feeling to Shanto鈥檚 comments as he said that not having a specific calendar for the A team is leading to suffering in Test cricket.
Bashar rued the inadequacy of matches for the Bangladesh A team campaigners.
鈥楢 team is a very important platform for a cricket-playing nation. It is easy to assess a player for the national team by overseeing their performance here. The A team is always close to the national team. Once you are in the selection panel, you can easily understand the state of the player by seeing how he is playing for the A team,鈥� he told 抖阴精品.
鈥楢 player can also understand his situation when assessing his performance on the A team. If you look at India or any other top Test-playing nation, they always send their A team before playing any Test. The sad thing is, although every cricket-playing nation has a calendar for their A team, we don鈥檛 have any.鈥�
The last series for Bangladesh A was in May-June, 2023, against West Indies A in Sylhet, where the visitors sealed the three-match four-day game series 1-0 after the home side drew the first and third game while suffering a three-wicket defeat in the second tie.
Despite a year passing since then, the BCB is yet to arrange another series for the Bangladesh A team, and Bashar said that it was because other Test-playing nationals were uninterested in playing such a series with Bangladesh.
However, BCB鈥檚 cricket operations chairman, Jalal Yunus, accepted their limitations for not arranging enough series for the A team, adding that they were going to play a couple of series in 2024 against New Zealand and Pakistan.
鈥楧efinitely, it would be better if they [the national team players] could play a substantial number of games. However, they barely find the opportunity. This year as well, we have a program with our A team. Bangladesh A will tour Pakistan and they will also visit us. Then, we will host New Zealand.鈥�