In the recently concluded ICC Under-19 World Cup in
Australia there had been some exciting players to watch from India, South
Africa, Australia, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Pakistan. Like their elder
brothers in Test cricket, Bangladesh too has unearthed some exciting young guns
to demand the attention of the critics and cricket fans.
The main three to attract eyeballs were Anamul Haque, Soumya
Sarkar and Litton Das. Among them, Anamul was the standout performer - the
tournament's leading run scorer with 365 runs at an average of 60.83 and a
strike-rate of 85.08 with two match-winning hundreds and one fifty. Litton, an
opener, made 262 runs at 52.40 with a century and two fifties.
What stood out from these two batsmen was their technique
and temperament. They delivered with the bat on difficult tracks where the ball
swung and tested the batsmen to their limits. Traditionally, Bangladesh batsmen
aren't at home against the moving ball but Litton and Anamul were never found
wanting. They played their strokes according to the merit of the deliveries and
were accustomed, while exhibiting shots, both on the front and back.
Soumya, Litton's opening partner, wasn't as successful but
like the other two his temperament was appreciable. In the quarterfinals
against Australia, his 73 against a potent attack hinted at the talent this boy
possesses. He was also a handy customer with the ball, chipping in with four
wickets in six matches at an average of 21.25 and economy rate of 5.79.
The emergence of players such as these, especially Anamul
and Litton, are encouraging for Bangladesh's batting order which is struggling
to surface dependable middle-order and opening batsmen. At the top, Tamim Iqbal
lacks a reliable partner while in the middle order the responsibility is still
shouldered by Shakib Al Hasan. Litton can provide the perfect foil to Tamim
while Soumya could be instrumental at No. 3. The middle order's security can be
vested upon Anamul.
Many will come up with ideas of surfacing them late. Many
will say that they are still aren't mature enough for Test cricket. But, in my
opinion, they are prepared temperamentally to play international cricket. In
the course of time their talent will be galvanized by facing various challenges
of Test cricket. Bangladesh plays lesser amount of Test cricket so they must be
made available for the four and five-day games against the A teams. In the
batting line up there are mediocre players who for years have given nothing but
frustration to our ardent cricket followers, and thus a bold step must be taken
to ensure these young gems' availability.
The biggest challenge for young talents would be the
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and its management policy. In the past, we have
seen many young and promising cricketers take the center stage with a bang but
the BCB's poor abilities to groom and nurture young talents have seen them get
lost in the long run. The fading away of Shahriar Nafees, Aftab Ahmad and Alok
Kapali is nothing but BCB's poor management in handling talents.
Talented cricketers are an asset and to ensure the utmost
services from them, a cricket board must be highly professional. The BCB and
its officials must not act like they had in the past and let talents fade
away. They should provide a healthy environment to groom them in the best
possible manner. The seniors of Bangladesh cricket should act like Sourav
Ganguly and Imran Khan and pass out necessary tips and advices to these
youngsters which for them will serve as a great motivation. We don't want to
see them grow up playing excessive T20 leagues in the name of nurturing. They
must not be taught to chase such financial rewards too early.
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
Note: This write up has been published in CricketNext.com written on 31/08/2012
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