BCB welcomes ICCs new Test, ODI league system
Akram thinks Tigers will bounce back in ODI series
Sports Reporter
With the ICC Board giving the green light to a nine-team Test league and a 13-team ODI league aimed at bringing context and meaning to bilateral cricket, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) thinks that it particularly will be the gainer of the new system.
Bangladesh was outspoken about the good number of Test matches in a bid to improve more in this format but the reluctance of the big teams to play against them keep the country in frustrating state.
The new league system now means that there is little scope for the other teams to play down the offer. The schedules of the leagues, due to start in 2019 and 2020 respectively, will now be finalised.
The Test series league will see nine teams play six series over two years three home and three away with each having a minimum of two Tests and a maximum of five and all matches being played over five days culminating in a World Test League Championship final.
The ODI league will be a direct qualification pathway towards the ICC Cricket World Cup and will be contested by the 12 Full Members plus the winners of the current ICC World Cricket League Championship. In the first edition of the league, each side will play four home and four away series each comprising of three ODIs moving to all teams playing each other from the second cycle onwards.
It will benefit Bangladesh much, said Cricket Operations chairman Akram Khan. The system means every team now will have the same opportunity. There will be no discrimination. Well get the same number of Tests what even a big team gets. In the past, we had to convince the big teams to come in our country to play cricket. Now this problem is removed.
Akram Khan also talked about Bangladeshs poor performance in South Africa. He held some of the senior players absence owing to injury, rest and others responsible for the poor performance.
In straight word, we had played worst cricket. The momentum we have, we didnt simply carry on it. Some of the senior players were not in the team due to injury, rest or other problems. Some of the players were in off-form.
But the former skipper believed Bangladesh have the ability to bounce back in the ODI series.
ODI will be a different ball game. In ODI cricket the difference between the big teams and small teams is lesser than the Test cricket. Moreover well get the service of the players like Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan back in the series. If we can put up good performance in all three departments, well have the chance to bring up good result.
No Test nations are without any problem. Sometimes you will go through a bad phase in team-wise and in individual performance-wise. If you have any problem you should inform it to the people who could make it right. This is not good to inform the dressing room matter to the public. We have to learn the art of how to talk to the media.
