BCL players beep test today
BCB to select 80 players from fitness test
Sports Reporter, Dhaka
.A string of players including countrys highest first-class centurion Tushar Imran and Nadif Chowdhury informed Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) they will not take part in todays players beep test. The BCB has arranged the beep test to examine the overall fitness of the players ahead of the upcoming franchisee-based longer version cricket tournament of Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL), which is all set to get underway from January 31 with the participation of the national teams players.
Arranged by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Tournament Committee, the fitness test will be held at the Mirpur Indoor of the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) in Mirpur at 10:00am today. BCB trainers Enamul Haque, Tushar Kanti Hawlader, Iftekharul Islam Iftee will conduct the fitness test of the players to examine their fitness for the BCL. Bangladesh national teams strength and conditioning coach Mario Villavarayan will coordinate the day-long session at the Home of Cricket.
It is learnt from the tournament committee sources that a total of 142 players is scheduled to take part in the fitness test this time around from where 80 players will be selected by the BCB selectors for the BCL. A string of players meanwhile pulled them out of the contention of the beep test because it has been restored the minimum requirement of the fitness which was fixed 11 in the session-opening domestic first-class cricket tournament of the National Cricket League (NCL).
Of them, Tushar Imran and Nadif Chowdhury informed the tournament committee phoning them that they will not take part in the bleep test. Some players though are not informed yet will come to take part in the fitness test. They are Farhad Hossain, Imtiaz Hossain, Abdur Razzak, Shajedul Islam and so on. BCB Tournament Committee held an important meeting with the participating franchisees and its sponsor along with BCB selection panel on Thursday from where it has been strictly informed that there will be no relaxation in players fitness for the participation of the first class cricket tournament.
Regarding the matter, an official of the BCB Tournament Committee said they have no dearth of the fit players in their line-up. Citing the example of the last NCL, Islam said more than 130 players crossed the hurdle of the fitness test that is essential for the players. Despite strictness of the players fitness, we got a total of 130 players who have successfully met the minimum fitness requirements of the board to the NCL, the official said.There is no dearth of fit players in the current line-up. So, we have no question to bring any relaxation in players fitness, he told The Independent.
He also informed the players have to come to attend the fitness test in Dhaka because the bleep test will be held in Dhaka only from this time, meaning that no test will be held out of Dhaka from now. The board has decided to start BCL in stead of Dhaka Premier League (DPL) because of the forthcoming back-to-back two Test series at home and away. Bangladesh will travel to Pakistan again for first Test on February 5 after returning home from Lahore just playing the ongoing Twenty20 International series.
Since then, they will play Test against visiting Zimbabwe, who are slated to come to visit here in Bangladesh in February for a full series comprising one-off Test, two ODIs and three-match T20Is though they were scheduled to play lone Test and five T20s. For this, the board has planned to begin the BCL so that the national teams players can go to play Test in Pakistan after playing the first round of the BCL. This time the matches of the franchisee-based league will be played at Coxs Bazar, Sylhet and Chattogram. The national players will miss the second round due to their Test in Pakistan.
