যতদিন পর্যন্ত না বাংলাদেশের প্রথম শ্রেণীর ক্রিকেট প্রতিযোগিতা মূলক হচ্ছে ততদিন পর্যন্ত ফলাফল এরকমই হবে

দক্ষিন আফ্রিকা সিরিজের ক্ষত সারাতে আসছে বিপিএল। এখান থেকে কিছু বিলো-এভারেজ ক্রিকেটার গজাবে যাদেরকে ওভাররেট করা হবে এবং জাতীয় দলে নেবার জন্য তাগাদা দেওয়া হবে। কিন্তু মূল সমস্যা নিয়ে কেউই কথা বলবে না। বিসিবি বস এবং কর্মকর্তারা একটি সার্কাস শো আয়োজন করতে যে সময় এবং অর্থ ব্যয় করেন সেটা যদি এই দেশের ভঙ্গুর প্রথম শ্রেণীর ক্রিকেটে করতেন তাহলে হয়ত দক্ষিন আফ্রিকাতে এরকম দুর্দশা হতো না।

অস্ট্রেলিয়া, ইংল্যান্ড কিংবা দক্ষিন আফ্রিকাতে ভালো পারফর্ম করতে হলে প্রথম শ্রেণীর ক্রিকেটের মান অনেক প্রতিযোগিতা মূলক হওয়া বাঞ্ছনীয় কারন শক্ত প্রতিযোগিতা জেতার মানসিকতা এবং ভালো মানের ফিটনেস লেভেল তৈরি করে এবং বাইরের দেশে ক্রিকেটের সব বেসিকের সাথে চাই শক্ত টেম্পারমেন্ট এবং ফিটনেস লেভেল। দুঃখজনক হলো, আমাদের ক্রিকেটারদের সেটা তৈরি হয় না।

কারন, বাংলাদেশের প্রথম শ্রেণীর ক্রিকেট এখনও একটি পিকনিক স্পট ছাড়া আর কিছুই না। আপনি কি মনে করেন ভারত এত ভালো দল শুধু পয়সার জোরেই হয়েছে? একদম না। ওখানকার রঞ্জি ট্রফিতে যে মানের প্রতিযোগিতা হয় সেটা জেতার মানসিকতা তৈরি করে দেয়। সেই সাথে ভারতীয় ক্রিকেটারেরা নিজেদের ফিটনেসের উপর যে কাজ করে সেটার ধারেকাছেও আমরা নেই।

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আমরা অনেকদিন ধরে বলে আসছি, ভালো দল গুলোর সাথে আমাদেরকে বেশী খেলতে দেওয়া হচ্ছে না, আমাদেরকে অনেক কম খেলা দেওয়া হয়...ইত্যাদি অনেক অভিযোগ। কিন্তু এই মৌসুমে তো আমরা অনেক আন্তর্জাতিক ম্যাচ খেলার সুযোগ পেয়েছি কিন্তু আমরা কি আমাদের টেম্পারমেন্ট এবং ফিটনেস ধরে রাখতে পেরেছি?

না পারিনি।

ভালো দলের সাথে বেশী ম্যাচ খেলতে চাইলে এবং তাদের দেশে ট্যুর করে সাফল্য পেটে হলে শক্ত টেম্পারমেন্ট এবং ভালো ফিটনেস থাকা চাই এবং এটা পাড়ার বিপিএল, টি২০ কিংবা টি১০ খেলে তৈরি হয় না বরং প্রথম শ্রেণীর ক্রিকেটের একটি শক্ত কাঠামো থেকে তৈরি হয়।

যতদিন পর্যন্ত না আমাদের দেশের প্রথম শ্রেণীর ক্রিকেট প্রতিযোগিতা মূলক হচ্ছে ততদিন পর্যন্ত ফলাফল এরকমই হবে। যতদিন না আমরা টেস্ট এবং চারদিনের ম্যাচ খেলাকে সিরিয়াসলি নিচ্ছি ততদিন আমাদের ক্রিকেটারদের শক্ত টেম্পারমেন্ট, জেতার মানসিকতা এবং ভালো ফিটনেস তৈরি হবে না এবং পাইপলাইনে ভালো, ভালো রিপ্লেসমেন্ট আসবে না।

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যেই দেশের সেরা খেলোয়াড় টেস্ট খেলা থেকে বিরতি নেয় সীমিত ওভারের ক্রিকেটে সেরাটা দেবার জন্য সেই দেশের ক্রিকেট ভবিষ্যৎ নিয়ে শংকিত হই। বিশ্রাম থেকে ফিরে এসে সাকিব কি করেছে? কিছুই করতে পারেনি। আমি একজন সাকিব ভক্ত কিন্তু তাই বলে সাকিবের সব কাজকে জাস্টিফাই করতে পারি না। ঠিক সেভাবে, আপনিও কারও ভক্ত হতে পারেন কিন্তু তাই বলে তার সব কাজের সমর্থন দেবেন এটাও ঠিক না। আবার, কাওকে রেট করার পূর্বে দেশপ্রেমে অন্ধ হয়ে ওভাররেট করলে সেটা ভালো কিছুই বয়ে আনে না।

ধন্যবাদ

ফয়সাল সিজার

Bangladesh outclassed again

Bangladesh bowling was taken to the cleaners by AB de Villiers and he is back with a bang today at Paarl. Bangladesh won the toss and decision to bowl first was correct. Mashrafe Mortaza opened the bowling with the breeze and Taskin Ahmed partnered him. But they struggled with pitching it on the right length – they struggled with the line in the first ODI. South Africa piled on the agony, but finally, Bangladesh scripted a breakthrough after 514 deliveries in ODIs at the cost of 550 runs.

Shakib Al Hasan struck with two quick wickets but the run machine of South Africa did not stop. AB and others mauled the Tigers and as usual Bangladesh digested yet another humiliating defeat. It was a frustrating display and the bowling remain pathetic throughout the tour. This team lacks intent and body language was so down it seemed Bangladesh went to South Africa only to maintain a formality.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar  

Enjoyed the second ODI at Abu Dhabi

The life of a postgraduate student is, he or she returns home from the hospital, take a bit of rest and start studying after the Maagreb prayers. This is a tough thing for guys like me who’s age is more than 35 years. But yesterday, I decided to close my medical books and follow the 50-over cricket match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at Abu Dhabi as with the progression of time, the match transformed into an absolute cracker.

Pakistan were left reeeling. Babar Azam started to unleash his talent and sense of responsibility - motored the whole Pakistan innings like a commander in chief. Shadab Khan’s bat shone brightly to boost Pakistan’s score and he has given Pakistan the hope as a genuine bowling allrounder at number eight. The fire of Junaid Khan, Rumman Raees and Hasan Ali jolted Sri Lanka early. Shadab’s googlies revived the memories of legendary Abdul Qadir. Pakistan’s funny fielding added humour. Upul Tharanga’s luck helped him to instill hope among Sri Lankan fans as he transformed into a symbol of courage and stubbornness. He reached a hundred but did not celebrate as his partner was run out in a bizarre manner. The bowling of Hasan and Rumman at the death was a treat for me and after a lot of twist and turn, the match ended with a run out.

You don’t see such exciting ODIs these days at all. Limited-overs game has become boring because of the overdose of bloody Twenty20 Leagues which offers only cash and no fun. Amid the bloody boredom, yesterday’s match at Abu Dhabi was a great gift for a cricket fan like me who relishes the exciting cricket of 80s and 90s.   

Thank You

Faisal Caesar   

Mediocre Bangladesh at Diamond Oval

Just before the start of first one-day international (ODI) between South Africa and Bangladesh at Kimberley, out of 12 ODI matches, only 3 were won by teams who batted first. Kimberley track favours the batsmen a lot and especially those who prefer to chase. But Bangladesh captain Masharfe Mortaza won the toss and decided to bat first which was not a correct decision. Even if the decision was not ideal, like Mushfiqur Rahim in five-day matches, he failed to back his choice as, firstly, he was let down by his bowlers and then, he was let down by his own strategies.

Bangladesh started their proceedings without the services of regular openers: Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar. Imrul Kayes went out to bat with Liton Kumar Das. Their start was cautious and at times very edgy. Faf Du Plessis took a brilliant catch at slip to end Liton Das’ stay while Dwaine Pretorious ended Kayes’ nervy stay at the crease. Those dismissals brought Bangladesh’s most inspiring duo at the crease together: Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim.  Both of them helped Bangladesh to stabilise, but overall, the Bangladesh innings lacked the effective acceleration.  

Mushfiqur Rahim, free from his captaincy duties, played one of the most brilliant knocks in abroad by a Bangladeshi batsman. His shot selections were perfect and motored the innings with a great authority. At first, he stitched a 59-run stand with Shakib and then 69-run stand with Mahmudullah Riyad. While Mushfiq kept on scoring, the middle and lower middle order struggled to accelerate when it was needed the most. Mushfiq notched up a brilliant hundred and this century should make him realise, what a gem he is with the bat when he is playing without the burden of captaincy.

Saifuddin’s cameo propelled Bangladesh to 278 for 7 in 50 overs, but in my opinion, they were at least 50 to 60 runs short on this track, still, a disciplined bowling and thinking captaincy could have helped Bangladesh to defend this total.

But when Bangladesh came out to bowl, it turned out to be a sorry tale.

I could not understand why Mashrafe did not start the first over. In the 50-over format, he is the leader of the attack and quite experienced enough to bowl with and into the wind. But he started off with Rubel Hossain, who bowls well as first change, into the wind and even though he pitched the ball on a back of a length and full, perhaps the breeze blowing against him, hampered his line badly. To get the line right, Rubel bowled too straight and in ODIs, such kinds of stuff are a gift: Quinton de Kock picked up the delivery from middle stump and played his first boundary on the onside.

Mashrafe was bowling with the breeze, but I am not sure, why he struggled to adjust his line. Three deliveries of his first over were on the middle stump at which Hashim Amla cashed on easily.

Mashrafe and Rubel’s first spell was all about middle and leg stump line and it helped Amla and QDK  to settle easily. Masharfe went for a change. He replaced Taskin to bowl into the wind and Taskin was all over the place. Neither could Taskin pitch the ball on line nor could he get his line right – Amla and QDK raced to a50-run stand.

Mash brought in Shakib and he was given a defensive field. Shakib attacked the middle and offstump, but it did not work as against a wicket-taking bowler, the field was set to stop runs and while bowling, such a ploy does not fetch you enough wickets.

Within ten overs, Mash already used his four bowlers and when they failed to capitalise, Mash went on the backfoot and as soon as the first twenty overs ended, Bangladesh never looked to come back into the game, because, their captain was out of ideas. Mash looked to stop runs and even he knows, this ploy doesn’t work as in a 50-over game, a captain needs to attack from one end and dry up the runs from another end.  

Normally, Mashrafe is a very proactive captain and always has a plan B. But today, he looked a very helpless man. A lot depends on the captain to lift the spirit and when the captain is found helpless, the team automatically lose hope. The bowlers struggled but had Mashrafe himself bounced back to instil hope with a burst, the others would have reinvented themselves. Mash came to bowl after a long break from international cricket and many of us expected a lot from him.  It is expected, he will bounce back.   

Finally, the way, Bangladesh bowlers struggled to rediscover themselves simply left me speechless. It was these same pacers who shone brightly under the coaching of Heath Streak, but as soon as Streak left, it’s that same Rubel, Taskin and co have transformed into a bunch of mediocre products.

Certainly, Courtney Walsh’s work needs to be judged seriously. So far, he has delivered nothing.  

Note: This article is published at Cricketsoccer on 15/10/2017 Mediocre Bangladesh at Kimberley

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

   

His name is Rumman Raees, he can bowl very well

During the semi-final of ICC Champions Trophy a few months back, tt first look, my impression about Rumman Raees was, he belongs to the hard working class group of Karachi. Slightly better than a medium-sized majdoor of Karachi who works hard all day and night to earn the livelihood of his family and still bears a smile on his face indicating, he is happy with life and ready to accept any challenges which come ahead of him. Rumman did accept the challenge of carrying the Pakistan attcak instead of injured Mohammad Amir in the semi-finals on June 14, 2017. Pakistan did not feel the absence of Amir as Rumman delivered the goods with a smile on his face.

Last night, when I saw him to bowl in first ODI against Sri Lanka at Dubai, I was mighty impressed. While the critics were left praising the young sensation Hasan, I could not forget the kind of pressure Rumman generated with the new ball. He hardly believes in containment and the way he comes back after getting hit is the hallmark of a pace bowler with a tough temperament.

Upul Tharanga smoked Rumman for a boundary in the second ball of his first over, but the Karachi lad came back with a fuller length which squared Tharanga in the following delivery. Rumman maintained his attacking line and length and was smoked again on the last ball. In the third ball of fourth over, Niroshan Dickwella, who started the over off with a boundary, poked at a delivery which zipped away from the deck from a fuller length.

In the sixth over, Dinesh Chadndimal was trapped lbw by a late inswinger which nipped-back-in after pitching on a length. It was pich of a delivery. As if Wasim Akram was unleashed in Dubai and many of us were taken back to the golden days of mid and late 80s and 90s when Akram waved such magic with the new ball in Sharjah and on the flat decks of subcontinent. Rumman was menacing with the white ball and his aggressive intent was the thing which a cricket follower always relishes to watch.

Rumman was brought back into the attack in middle overs. He nailed Lahiru Thirimanne with another fuller length ball. Yes, this boy from Karachi is a freak when it comes to dishing out the fuller length balls. Be it with the new or old ball,  Rumman makes it move both ways. Even against England in the ICC Champions Trophy, he was found very effective while bowling that length. Then he can deliver those nip-backers from the back of a length to create doubt in the minds of batsmen. His wrist position is so well, one can only be left praising this boy.  

I wonder, how effective this lad would be in Test cricket? I think he can be a very good asset for Pakistan with the red ball also. But it depends on how fit this boy is as he has a history of being injury prone. But being a lover of Test cricket, I would definitely love to witness Rumman’s fuller length bowling in the Test arena. 

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

BCB needs to have strict regulations around cricketers, coach and officials interacting with local media

According to Prothom Alo, one of Bangladesh’s most popular but controversial newspaper, the head coach of Bangladesh cricket team, Chandika Hathurusingha and Tigers denied giving any statements to Bangladeshi journalists who travelled South Africa for covering the series. Chandika and his men practised in indoors which was guarded by an iron gate and no Bangladeshi journalists were allowed to enter there. Surely, some of the so-called celebrated sports journalists of Bangladesh were not at all happy with this, but deep down, they failed to realise the reason behind this.

Since Chandika was appointed as the head coach of Bangladesh, a group of Bangladesh journalists have made his life tough by spreading their personal vendetta against him. Chandika galvanised this team who were at doldrums in 2014. Time and again, Chandika proved his worth as a coach, but still, unnecessarily, some of the local journalists continued to portray him as someone ‘autocratic’ and ‘rude’ whereas, players like Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah Riyad and Tamim Iqbal expressed their satisfaction with the coach.

To run a team one needs to be strict towards discipline and ethics to bring the best out of the players, and if Chandika’s such so-called autocratic nature delivers Bangladesh the best of results and triggers a festive mood among fans, I endorse his so-called ‘autocratic’ nature.

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Chandika is someone who loves to plan his own way and create a competitive and less polluted environment to prepare Tigers to counter the toughest of challenges. He loves to do things privately and only prefers to consult with the boss of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), Nazmul Hassan and persons related to team management. Whether it is a vital factor to discuss the plans with local sports journalists or not remains a moot question. Moreover, some of the sports journalists of Bangladesh have a bad history of twisting quotes and create anger and confusion among the readers. In that sense, Chandika has not been wrong to avoid such sports journalists of Bangladesh.

One of the habits of sports journalists of Bangladesh is, they suffer from a superiority complex and think as one of the messiahs of Bangladesh Cricket. And for which, they take each and every cricket coach and officials for granted. It seems, they all are bound to talk to them and give them utmost importance. And any of the officials or coaches, deny to fulfil their requirements, these journalists take personal revenge by publishing twisted news.

The perfect example is Nazmul Hassan’s statement about Mushfiqur Rahim where he did not say anything to hurt the Test captain, but the news published a few weeks ago easily outraged the fans. Then the negative propaganda about some of current cricketers had been the result of cheap Facebook posts of these sports journalists. If a Soumya Sarkar or Liton Das avoid talking to them, they target them and undermine their talent and image in public forums.  

I ask, except few, what is the contribution of these sports journalists in Bangladesh cricket? Other than defaming or spreading lies about someone or unleashing conspiracy theories, what have they done for Bangladesh cricket?

Neither Chandika nor Nazmul Hassan is bound to talk to a group of insensible journalists but they always welcome the sensible brains. Bangladesh has been blessed with prolific sports journalists, but since they achieved Test status, how could a group of less-skilled, poor-knowledge-about-cricket and insensible group of people became sports journalists under the nose of some qualified and renowned sports journalists of Bangladesh cannot be understood. 

   

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It’s really surprising the way these sports journalists claim their authority in each and every matter of Bangladesh cricket. There is a school of thought, these so-called celebrated sports journalists have personal relationships with some of the national team’s cricketers and thus, they exploit this advantage in a very bad way.

Mashrafe Mortaza is one of the icons of Bangladesh Cricket, but the way he interacts with some of the sports journalists of Bangladesh, it is only hampering the healthy environment of our cricket.

The so-called bromance between Masharfe and some sports journalists of Bangladesh paved the way to the creation of a bad syndicate, which is notorious to the limit.

Time and again, various stories just crop up due to the lack of privacy as these notorious minds have easy access everywhere by using the "Mashrafe Card". Unnecessary hype is created in social media by such people, which is only polluting the atmosphere of Bangladesh cricket and sowing the seeds of confusion and arrogance in the minds of Bangladesh fans. 

Is Mashrafe using these notorious minds for his own benefits? 

Does he wish to be the ultimate hero by making each and everyone a villain and gain something bigger in upcoming days?  

I think Mash should stop this!

Not only Mashrafe, but the time has also come for BCB to take sterner steps against the access of notorious minds. BCB needs to have a code of conduct and limit the access of these notorious minds in each and every matter of Bangladesh cricket. There has to be a limitation between the interaction of players and sports journalists of Bangladesh in future for the betterment of Bangladesh Cricket.

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Journalism is a noble and challenging profession. As a reader, I expect sense, sensibility and quality news and articles from them.  But what some of the sports journalists of Bangladesh do for the sake of personal reasons, is very disgraceful. Competent coaches like Heath Streak, Thilan Samaraweera and co just could not prolong their stay with Tigers only due to the continuous provocation of some of local sports journalists.

Bangladesh as a country is not bound to bog down towards a group of notorious minds. The Tigers and its fans are not bound to fall in the trap of their emotional blackmails.

BCB needs to act quickly.   

Note: This article is published at Cricketsoccer on 13/10/2017 BCB needs to have strict regulations around cricketers, coach and officials interacting with local media    

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

Argentina v Ecuador, 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: Cometh the hour, cometh the Messiah

It was a must-win situation for Argentina and we all know how the team is heavily dependent on Lionel Messi despite being blessed with some outstanding attacking players. Incredibly, no Argentina player other than Messi has scored a goal in a competitive game since 15 November 2016 - that was six matches ago. Messi knows this very well and thus, decided to unleash his true colours when it mattered the most.

With Argentina's Russia hopes in a critical condition after last week's dour 0-0 draw against Peru, Messi scored a stunning hat-trick as Jorge Sampaoli's men fought from behind to see off Ecuador 3-1.

Argentina had entered the match outside the qualification spots in South America's notoriously tough 10-team qualifying group. And within 45 seconds their hopes looked all but over, as Romario Ibarra gave Ecuador - who had no qualification hopes - the lead.

Yet two goals in eight minutes from Messi put Argentina in front; his first came after excellent interplay with Angel Di Maria, before he pounced on some lackadaisical play in the home defence and ruthlessly fired into the roof of the net.

Argentina weren't at their best, unable to control possession or the shape of the game as they would have liked. But it hardly mattered as the five-time Ballon d'Or winner showed his class with a magnificent third, skinning a defender before a sublime finish past Maximo Banguera.

Substitute Mauro Icardi should have made it 4-1 at the death, but was denied by Banguera, but this was the night when Argentina's greatest goalscorer became perhaps their greatest ever player.

So, Argentina will feature in next year’s World Cup and had Messi not played the role of a life-saver, we all might have missed one of the exciting sides of world football. Thankfully, they have boarded the ship to Russia and as a Brazilian fan, I wish them all the best in FIFA World Cup. But I just want to say, they still need to work harder on their grey areas and dependency on Messi won’t help them enough in the mega event.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

Don't forget to thank Pakistan

Sri Lanka ended Pakistan's decade-long dominance at home in Test cricket on 1995 and today, they ended the same. Next time, whenever Pakistan face Sri Lanka after dominating at home for ten years, they should be very careful. These Lankan Lions seem to be habituated to end Pakistan’s decade-long dominations. But, I am for Sri Lanka’s victory. They were almost at risk of getting lost from Test arena and were the genuine underdogs before the start of this series. Thankfully, they pulled off an astonishing series victory and conquered their transition period.

I was one of those guys who always kept faith in this Sri Lankan side and kept on saying, they will turn around. Finally, they paid back my faith and this victory should boost the confidence of Lankan unit to a great extent. It’s time to move on with a new vigour and vim. It’s time to build a better future.

Sri Lanka deserve all the accolades while Pakistan are left to think what went wrong for them. Their batting let them down heavily at Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The mood won’t be good in the dressing room as to see the home domination coming to an end doesn’t give anyone any sort of satisfaction. Especially, for Sarfraz Ahmed, it would be hard to digest. As the captain, he gave more than one hundred percent on the field, but at times, life gifts you defeat only to expose your mistakes and learn from them.

Anyhow, Pakistan should be satisfied thinking, without them the two-match Test series might never become so dramatic. At Abu Dhabi, in the first Test, for the first four days, it was all about attritional cricket. Experts and fans kept on searching for wickets. On the final day, they witnessed the wickets to tumble in a crazy manner. At Yasir Shah triggered a collapse in Sri Lankan batting lineup and then, Pakistan, the hosts, surrendered meekly while chasing just 136 runs.

The final day at Abu Dhabi burst into life because of Pakistan’s unpredictable nature than Rangana Herath’s bowling. Each over triggered huge amount of tensions and nail-biting moments and in the end, Pakistan fell short to the joy of Sri Lankan players, officials and fans. Abu Dhabi witnessed a thrilling finish and it was all due to some crazy-but-thrilling cricketing display from Pakistan.

In the second Test at Abu Dhabi, on the third day, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah and surprising bowling-package Haris Sohail stranglehold the Lankan batters to bundle them out for just 96 runs. It was a comeback which only teams like Pakistan can script: They conceded a 220 runs deficit in first and desperately needed their attack to fire. Mind you, they would be bowling without Mohammad Amir in third innings and except Yasir, one could not keep enough faith in Wahab.

But, Wahab transformed into a demon. It was a bone-chilling exhibition of pace bowling under the lights. From the other end, Yasr kept on testing the Lankan batting lineup and on fourth day, Haris Sohail halted Sri Lanka’s progression.

A foregone conclusion became a 50-50 contest. Courtesy, Pakistan’s brilliant turn around.

Chasing 317 to win, Pakistan were reeling at 52 for 5 and chances of yet another foregone conclusion cropped up. But Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed scripted an inspiring partnership to instill hope. The contest took a dramatic twist yet again. Courtesy, Pakistan’s fightback.

But in the end, it was Sri Lanka who celebrated but Test cricket is left thanking Pakistan for their unpredictable nature. Their habit of making easy things tough and tough things easy gifted us all a thrilling Test series in an era when a group of crooks are up to end the journey of Test cricket for the sake of cash.   

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

Bangladesh Cricket Board needs to take constructive steps

Bangladesh registered their second successive humiliating defeat. While the first Test extended to final day, the second ended within two and half days. On the third day, the visitors surrendered meekly and failed to occupy the crease on a track which flat and very good for batting. Technically and temperamentally, Bangladesh have been so mediocre as a batting and bowling unit, it’s hard to point fingers towards the track or get excited about the bowling of South African bowlers.

On both the occasions, the tracks were flat. South Africa’s bowling unit did not have that firepower in first Test and in second, it was a half-strength attack. Neither their pacers bowled with deceptive pace or unleashed a barrage of short-pitch bowling targeting the ribcage area, still, Bangladesh top and middle order were found wanting.

“About the Bangladeshi batsmen, I don’t know what happened. We just stuck to our plan and at the end of the day they got themselves out”, said Rabada during the press conference after day two of second Test. Rabada’s statement indicates about the lack of application among the batsmen of visiting team.

Bangladesh folded for 172, following on from their first-innings 147, inside one and a half session, on the third day to suffer their heaviest defeat against South Africa in Tests and it would not sensible enough to overlook some matters for the betterment of future.

Rethink about Mushfiqur Rahim’s captaincy

This has not been the first time, but on previous occasions, Mushfiqur Rahim’s defensive mindset proved handy for Bangladesh and his mind-boggling emotional exhibitions made Bangladesh a butt of jokes in front of world cricket. A Test captain needs to be a man of strong personality and blessed with sheer confidence and attacking intent. But sadly, even after playing cricket for twelve years and leading the side for five years, Mushfiq remains fragile emotionally and pragmatic as a leader.

His poor decision at the toss in second Test even surprised Faf du Plessis and made him mock at Mushfiq. On the field, he was a confused leader, who did not know what he was doing and with the bat, he failed to lead from the front. He never learned from his mistakes.

The time has come for Bangladesh cricket’s fraternity to rethink about Mushfiq’s role as a Test captain. Bangladesh need a captain who is not defensive and emotionally fragile as Mushfiq and at the moment, it seems, Tamim Iqbal is the ideal choice to lead Bangladesh in white clothes.

Imrul Kayes and Soumya Sarkar need a break

Imrul Kayes kept on expressing his wish to play as an opener towards the local press and his wish came true in South Africa. But sadly, he failed to prove a point. The manner of his dismissals was soft. Whereas, Soumya Sarkar frustrated me big time. I invested my faith in him and thought he would rectify his mistakes. But he was also the victim of poor technique. Avoiding an angled bat outside the offstump against pace bowlers is a basic thing and if Soumya fails to keep his bascis right at this level, I think, he needs a break from Tests. And definitely, Kayes also needs a break to rediscover himself.  

So, Bangladesh would be left with the task of finding an ideal opening partner for Tamim Iqbal in Test cricket. Even though some of the paid local sports journalists and fans in social media are crying about Shahriar Nafees, but BCB need not pay heed to such bullshits and give a hard look at the Under19 squad which did very well last year. Then in the domestic circuit, some of the young guns did cut a very good figure. Batsmen like Saif Hasan, Yasir Ali, Zakir Hasan and co are young and talented boys who are doing well at the moment and can prove their worth as the opening partner of Tamim.     

Is the batting coach good enough?

BCB was not satisfied (!) with the previous batting coach Thilan Samaraweera and did not extend his contract. But the coach whom they appointed in place of Thilan neither had any better first-class career nor any exposure to the international circuit. Even his career as a batting consultant was nothing satisfactory. Moreover, Akram Khan, one of the big bosses of BCB, said, he was appointed to look after the lower middle and lower order batsmen which was quite astonishing.

Anyhow, it seems, Bangladesh forgot to bat in five-day matches as soon as Mark O’Neil was appointed as the batting coach. Even in New Zealand and against some quality attack Bangladesh batters showed enough character while against Rangana Herath at Colombo, temperamentally, Bangladesh batters were at their very best. But at home against Australia and in South Africa, the top and middle order batsmen made silly mistakes. Perhaps, Mark has not been able to carry on the good work done by Thilan. He has failed to create an impact on Bangladesh batters.

His contract was subjected to the standard of coaching and I don’t think, BCB should extend his contract.

Bangladesh need a competent batting coach.

Courtney Walsh has not been impactful like Heath Streak

The arrival of Heath Streak rejuvenated the Bangladesh bowling. Especially, the pace bowlers were at their menacing best. But Streak left the scene last year and BCB roped in the legendary Courtney Walsh. Me and many of Bangladesh cricket fans expected a lot from Walsh, but in the course of time, the pace bowlers of Bangladesh started to lose their shine under him.

Bangladesh bowlers bowl well in patches but not like the kind of aggression and intent which they once bowled under Streak which is a matter of concern for BCB. Walsh has been around the corner for more than one year and by now, he should have been proved someone impactful. But time and again, Bangladesh cricket fans are left to miss Streak.

If Walsh is not delivering well enough, why continue with him?

This Test series should help Bangladesh to rectify their mistakes. Bangladesh’s world is not at a loss due to this defeat, but putting the mistakes under the carpet might prove catastrophic in future. And thus, BCB needs to take stern steps.

Note: This article is published on Cricketsoccer on 08/10/2017 Bangladesh Cricket Board needs to take constructive steps

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

Liton 'Tough' Das

Six down!

Rain delayed the start of second day’s play but when the game commenced, the sun shone brightly over the Manuang Oval Cricket Ground at Bloemfontein. The story was as usual for South Africa. Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis fetched runs easily as ever to notch up their respective Test hundreds and piled on the agony of Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim. Mushfiq maintained his defensive strategy to stop the runs but such a ploy would never stop two classic batsmen, Amla and Fa, from scoring runs. The runs came thick and fast and at one point, Faf declared at 573 for 4.

Imrul Kayes, the batsmen who was supposed to be injured, came out running to bat with Soumya Sarkar. But Kagiso Rabada, Duanne Olivier and Wayne Parnell set jitters in the Bangladesh top order. At 65 for 6, a big shame awaited for them when a someone named Liton Kumar Das rose to the occasion to arrest the collapse for a while and dominated the South African pacers in style.

Enters Liton Kumar Das

Soumya was castled, Mominul was caught behind while a bemused Mushfiq walked for the pavilion after being caught by the acrobatic Temba Bavuma. Mahmudullah Riyad, who showed a great temperament with the bat at Potchefstroom in the first innings, flayed some strokes and gave all a lot of promise, but just when one started to gather hope, Mahmudullah also perished in the most hopeless manner.  

Parnell dished out a wide of offstump delivery to Mahmudullah Riyad against which he scripted an unnecessary stroke away from his body. Bangladesh lost their fourth wicket and Parnell followed up with the same delivery to Liton but he was sensible enough to go back and leave it. In the next three balls of over 15, Parnell, changed his length to back of a length and tried to square up Liton, but his initial trigger movement on the backfoot helped him to pivot on the back and defended those deliveries very well.   

The Liton show at Manuang Oval

After a quiet period against Keshav Maharaj, Liton thought of playing his natural game and put South African pacers on the backfoot. In such a crucial stage, either a batsman decides to exhibit resolve or counterattack. Liton decided to counterattack, but it was a classic one and not like the modern day Twnety20 style.

Liton’s first boundary was edgy, but the second one was a sheer delight for the purists: Parnell pitched one on a good length and angled in, but Liton was quick to pick up the length and got into the position swiftly to script a boundary through long off.

After tea, Liton witnessed the demise of Imrul Kayes and Sabbir Rahman, but he was not all scared by the critical situation and decided to marshall the tail-ender, Taijul Islam. He was calm and composed at the wicket and exhibited a controlled aggression against pace bowlers who tested him with their variation in length.

Taming Rabada

Rabada banged one short in the fourth ball of 22nd over. Liton went back and hooked it four by keeping the ball on the ground. It was just like poetry and murder of the cricket ball. At present, you can hardly notice a batsman to execute the hook shot with such an authority. Neither ball was mistimed nor it kissed the edge nor was there any brute force, but it was all about sublime technique.  

Rabada changed his length in the 24th over. He decided to pitch it on the good and back of a length outside off. But Liton decided to lean onto the stroke and shift his balance backwards and scripted two eye-catching boundaries through the offside with an absolute surgical precision. Rabada was taken by surprise by the ability of Liton to execute the backfoot stroke-play.

 Liton should be a regular member of Test side

Faf brought on Parnell, who pulled his length back but the result was same. A wonderful drive through extra-cover shut the mouth of those who kept on saying, Liton is weak while playing on the offside.

A tap through offside off Phehlukwayo brought up his fifty. But he was not finished yet.

After stitching a 52-run partnership, Taijul departed. Rubel Hossain was playing the role of sheet anchor to Liton’s aggression. In the 37th over, Phehlukwayo was taken to the cleaners by Liton. He pitched the ball up outside off, but each time, Liton exhibited outstanding footwork to crack four boundaries in one over. It was like a ray of hope amid the darkness for Bangladesh.

But his end was a soft one. He attempted a pull shot against Rabada on the front foot and edged the ball to Faf. A great knock came to an end but it earned plenty of accolades from the experts of the game.

Liton showed his teammates, batting is not at all tough on this track and one needs to show the right attitude and technique to fetch runs. Technically and temperamentally, Liton is an asset. He showed great character while batting with the tail-enders and his ability with the bat and gloves should make him a regular member of Bangladesh Test team.

Note: This article is published at Cricketsoccer on 07/10/2017 Liton 'Tough' Das

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

Mushfiqur Rahim’s statements at press conference lacked maturity and logic

After a tiring first day of first Test at Potchefstroom, it was Sabbir Rahman, who appeared in front of the press and gave some illogical statement in favour Mushfiqur Rahim’s decision to bowl first. Bangladesh suffered badly due to that decision and sadly, the Bangladesh captain committed the same mistake yesterday after winning the toss. The South African batters punished Bangladesh in a similar fashion. From deciding to field to captaining the side in the middle, Mushfiqur Rahim was very poor.

Thankfully, he appeared in front of the media after the end of first day’s play at Bloemfontein. But what he stated to presses were nothing but hilarious and very immature.

About the toss

Mushfiq was asked about the decision to bowl first and he replied ‘emotionally,’ “I think it was my mistake to win the toss. I have been trying to do everything honestly for the last 12 years. But in these last two games, it seems it’d have been better had I lost the toss”.

It was a mistake to win the toss? How on earth the captain of a Test team could state anything such as this? He played cricket for twelve years and has been leading the Test side for the last six years and one expects a captain to speak with enough maturity and not like a school kid. Stating that winning the toss was a mistake, only indicated about his fragile confidence and lack of ability to handle pressure.

When a captain wins the toss, he uses it to his advantage and not blame it. Lady luck gave Mushfiq back to back opportunities to utilise the dry tracks at Potchefstroom and Bloemfontein. But his inability to read the track dented Bangladesh’s hopes.

Now, who should be blamed here?

Winning the toss or the inability to read the track?

You decide.

Blaming the bowlers

“It didn’t go well. We took the decision to bowl first and there was help in the first two hours. Our bowling wasn’t up to the standard. It was disappointing. When you give away a lot of runs with the new ball things become easier for the batsmen when it should be the opposite. We made a comeback but it was not enough. We are on the backfoot. If we can take two early wickets, we hope to bowl them out within the next 100-150 runs,” said Mushfiq during the post-day press conference after day one.

Hey dude, give me a break!

Just read the points below:

1. You started with two slips instead of three with Mustafiz from the Loch Logus End where the breeze was blowing in favour of pacers.

2. You kept a leg slip and asked Fizz to attack middle and leg against Dean Elgar who’s extremely good on his pads and wasted the new ball.

3. You denied the new ball bowlers to achieve any sort of momentum and hampered it by replacing them with Rubel Hossain and Soumya Sarkar (!) in the first six overs of first session of first day of a Test.

4. You set a defensive field in first session and allowed the home team’s batsmen to settle easily.

5. Despite being a captain, you kept on fielding outside the inner circle which was simply mind-boggling.

Blaming the bowlers cannot mask your own mistakes.

Blaming the team management

“I want to clear something: I am not being considered as a good fielder. The coaches wanted me to field in the deep because they feel I give away runs or drop catches in the inner circle. I tried to abide by their instruction. You have to do what the team management tells you to do. I tried to field in the deep but whenever I was in the inner circle, I tried to speak to the bowlers,” said Mushfiq during the post-day press conference after day one.

Perhaps, this was the most hilarious statement ever made by a Test captain.

Be it in Test cricket or 50-over format, a lot depends on the captain to decide as because he’s at the centre of action. This is a game of cricket and not soccer where the coach would dictate terms at times from the dugout. In cricket, a captain needs to depend a lot on his courage and intelligence.  A captain always has to take his own decisions in the middle and not rely on anyone else. Yes, he might take suggestions from others, but at the end of the day, it would be his decision which would help the team in the best possible way.

If a Test captain says, he was fielding outside the inner circle as because the team management wanted him to do such then why is he the captain? If a Test captain is the puppet of others, then he is nothing but a spineless creature and definitely, he is not qualified enough to lead a Test team.

 Whether Mushfiq made such accusations only to hide his own mistakes or not remains a moot question. Mushfiq might have wanted to play a blame game and blame games are only played by the weak characters. Sadly, time and again, Mushfiq is proving himself as someone weak who lacks the personality and confidence to lead a Test team.  

The time has come for Bangladesh Cricket Board to rethink about Mushfiq as the Test captain. It would be better if they invest faith in someone like Tamim Iqbal who has the personality, leadership qualities and sound knowledge about the game.  

Note: This article is posted at Cricketsoccer on 07/10/2017 Mushfiqur Rahim’s statements at press conference lacked maturity and logic

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

Mushfiqur Rahim: A case of choice-supportive bias?

ESPNcricinfo’s South African correspondent, Firdose Moonda reported on October 4, 2017: “Photographs taken on Sunday showed a strip so green it almost could not be distinguished from the outfield. By Monday some of the grass had been shaved off, as shown in the accompanying picture, and since then, persistent rain has kept the pitch under covers. More showers are forecast for Thursday, which means the track may not see much sunlight before the first ball is bowled on Friday, and it could be tricky for batsmen on both sides”. Her reports and the photograph posted on the website indicated, the home team’s captain Faf du Plessis would have a track according to his wish – more pace and bounce.

But as a matter of fact, it turned out to be yet another dry wicket. Neither was there any grass nor any hints of true bounce to aid the pace bowlers. It was almost a carbon copy of the track at Potchefstroom. So, any captain who would win the toss, would definitely bat first. But yet again, Mushfiqur Rahim decided to field first despite knowing the fact, this track is ideal for the batters to cash in. He was even mocked by Faf at the toss who said, “Nine times out of 10 you will bat first. It is a very normal cricket wicket”.

Cricketers who play at the highest level and lead their men, are always expected to learn from their mistakes, but sadly, the Bangladesh captain seems to be a persona made of different material who is disinterested to learn from his mistakes. And, he loves to repeat them with a great consistency. An atom bomb may fall on him, a Tsunami may engulf him, a twister may threaten to blow him away or an earthquake may threaten him to bury underneath the earth, but still, Mushfiq would exhibit the determination of a saint to persist with his plans which are flawed and useless.  

Even if the local goons chase Mushfiq down with guns in their hands and threaten him to change his flawed plans, he won’t change it. Now, definitely, Mushfiq is a rare species and a wonderful case study for the neuroscientists and psychologists who have done various studies on why some people don’t learn from their mistakes.    

Well, Mushfiq might not shine as a captain or an intellect of the game, but surely, the study of his unique brain might win some scientists or psychologists a Nobel Prize! That would be a matter of pride for the people of Bangladesh who are extremely obsessed with winning a Nobel Prize these days.

Well, toss won and decision to field was taken. But what Mushfiq exhibited as a captain in first session was nothing short of hilarious captaincy. It was a wrong decision to bowl first and thus, to rectify his decision, he was needed to come out as a proactive captain. But as usual, it was a confused Bangladesh captain who did not know what he was doing out there.

Mustafizur Rahman started operating with the breeze from the Loch Logan end. Any captain would place at least three fielders at slip, but Mushfiq kept two and the third slip was placed at leg slip. With the ball new and shining like fresh apple, the idea to keep a man at leg slip did not make any sense. It forced Mustafiz to land the ball more on the middle and leg stump line and Dean Elgar flayed those easily on the onside.

Subasish Roy leaked fifteen runs in one over and he was replaced by Soumya Sarkar from the Willows end! How on earth could a captain bring on a part-time medium-pacer on the first session of Day 1 and that also within five overs? Then, surprisingly, from the Loch Logan end, Mustafiz was replaced by Rubel Hossain within six overs! Only a captain with no experience of playing at this level would operate with four bowlers in first ten overs of a Test match. But Mushfiq has the experience of playing Test cricket since 2005. Still, he was found wanting in the middle. He committed this same mistake at Potchefstroom and repeated it at Bloemfontein.

In the post lunch and tea session, Mustafiz, Rubel and Roy bowled with a lot of aggressive intent. But if an aggressive pace bowler is not gifted with an aggressive field, how can he think of fetching wickets? Mushfiq’s field setting remained defensive and the South African batsmen scored runs easily as if they were having a picnic at Manguang Oval and they were served food and desserts by Mushfiq.

Sometimes we twist reality so that it looks like we didn't make a mistake at all. Unfortunately, for a person to learn from his mistakes, he must have the ability to recognize that he made one. We don't like to feel bad, so we find ways to skirt around the truth which is one of the biggest obstacles one can make for himself and it's arguably the most important one to overcome.

According to the psychology experts, this is known as “choice-supportive bias, or a tendency to retroactively create positive attributes to a choice you've already made. A good example of this is Buyer's Stockholm Syndrome or Post-purchase rationalization”. As for example, according to Wikipedia, “If a person chooses option A instead of option B, they are likely to ignore or downplay the faults of option A while amplifying those of option B. Conversely, they are also likely to notice and amplify the advantages of option A and not notice or de-emphasize those of option B”.

Mushfiq is someone who doesn’t want to accept, he is making mistakes and tries to rationalize it either by weak logics or emotional statements. Perhaps, that’s why he keeps on repeating the mistakes and to overcome this, he needs to accept his mistakes first of all. 

Note: This article published at Cricketsoccer on 06/10/2017 Mushfiqur Rahim: A case of choice-supportive bias?

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

জাতীয় দলকে অনুপ্রাণিত করার মত কোন ফুটবলার লিওনেল মেসি নন

দক্ষিন আমেরিকার বিশ্বকাপ ফুটবল কোয়ালিফাইয়িং যেন চরম নাটকীয় মোড় নিয়েছে। সবচেয়ে বড় বিপদে আর্জেন্টিনা। আর্জেন্টিনার মূল সমস্যা হলো লিওনেল মেসির উপর অতিমাত্রায় নির্ভরতা। আমি ২০০৫-এ ও বলেছি এবং এখনও বলছি, মেসি ম্যারাডোনার ন্যায় ওয়ান ম্যান শো  টাইপের ফুটবলার নন। জাতীয়দলকে অনুপ্রাণিত করার মত কোন কোয়ালিটি তার নেই যেটা ম্যারাডোনা কিংবা মারিও ক্যাম্পাসের ছিলো।  

আর্জেন্টিনার না আছে মধ্যমাঠ না আছে কোন নাম্বার নাইন। দিবালা একজন ওভাররেটেড ফুটবলার। সে পাবলো আইমারের ধারে কাছে ও যায় না। বার্সেলোনাতে মেসিকে জাভি এবং ইনিয়েস্তা মধ্যমাঠ থেকে এবং ডানে উইং ব্যাক থেকে দানি আলভেস যা সাপোর্ট দিয়েছে সেই মানের কোন ফুটবলার আর্জেন্টিনার নেই। হ্যাঁ, নেই। যারা আছে তারা ক্লাব নির্ভর এবং এদের বাদে যা আছে তারা নিতান্তই মাঝারি মানের। 

সমস্যা হলো ব্রাজিলের সমর্থকরা সত্য স্বীকার করতে জানে কিন্তু আর্জেন্টিনার সমর্থকরা সত্য মানতে চায় না। ডুঙ্গার সময় কিংবা সোলারির সময় করা ভুল গুলো আমরা অকপটে স্বীকার করে নিয়ে টুইটারে নিয়মিত সিবিএফকে কনস্ট্রাকটিভ টুইট করতাম। আমরা এক নেইমার ইউফোরিয়াতে ভুগি না। দলের ভালোর জন্য দরকার হলে নেইমারকে বাদ দিতে হলেও একজন ব্রাজিল সমর্থকের কিছু আসে যায় না। কিন্তু আর্জেন্টিনার সমর্থক এবং অফিসিয়ালদের দল নয় মেসি দরকার কারন সে দলকে জেতাতে না পারলেও সে স্পন্সর এবং পয়সা দেয়। 

আমি খুব করে চাই আর্জেন্টিনা বিশ্বকাপে কোয়ালিফাই করুক। কারন ওদেরকে ছাড়া বিশ্বকাপ জমবে না। তবে সেটার জন্য আর্জেন্টিনাকে মেসির উপর নির্ভরতা কমাতে হবে। মেসি বার্সেলোনাকে অনেক কিছু দিলেও আর্জেন্টিনাকে কিছুই দিতে পারবে বলে আমার কখনো মনে হয়নি।

ধন্নবাদ 

ফয়সাল সিজার 

T10 Cricket league: Another joke? Another disease?

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was in need of another one-day competition to fill its space after the completion of Benson & Hedges Cup, a one-day competition for the counties in England, in 2002. The brains in England were thinking about increasing the popularity of game and attract more crowds in the stadium.

Even though, as a follower of cricket, I never felt that the popularity of 50-over and Test cricket had gone down and thus, it was not quite clear to me about the motive of Stuart Robertson, ECB’s marketing manager, who proposed a 20-over per innings for each team to the County chairmen. Stuart's proposal won by 11-7 votes and on June 13, 2003, the first official Twenty20 matches were played in English Counties in Twenty20 Cup.

Still, the world was relatively unaware about this format at that time. But, in England, it gained a huge popularity.  The first Twenty20 match held at Lord's on July 15,  2004, between Middlesex and Surrey, attracted a crowd of 27,509, the highest attendance for any county cricket game at the ground,  other than a one-day final since 1953. Gradually, the format was tried and tested in Pakistan and Australia, but the biggest power of world cricket, India, still lacked the interest about Twenty20.  

If Misbah-ul-Haq not attempted that fatal scoop against Joginder Sharma and holed out to Sreesanth at Johannesburg in the final of inaugural World Twenty20, perhaps, it would have taken more time for BCCI and India to embrace this format. Perhaps, India might not have thought about this format so seriously.

But as soon as soon MS Dhoni lifted the trophy in a festive environment at Wanderers in 2007, it triggered a profitable-wave in the brains of the think-tank of BCCI and businessmen in India. The majority in India, including some of the renowned cricket commentators, want the end of Test cricket. India, a nation renowned for the worshippers of classic cricket, has now been blinded by a taamasha named the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) whose pseudo-glamour and late night parties seem more important than five-day matches.   

England started the concept of Twnety20 and at the hands of BCCI and Indian businessmen,  it transformed into a tool of making cash. The Cricket Boards of other countries also want to taste the flavour of this new and crazy money-making machine and thus, circus shows like Bangladesh Premier League, Big Bash league, Caribbean Premier League and Pakistan Super League started their journey.  

***

The moderate thinkers of the game welcome change, but a moderate and sensible thinker of the game cannot accept those changes, which are extremely harmful to the health of the game. Since this format named Twenty20 emerged, at first, I welcome this, but within two or three years, I discovered, this format is nothing but a disease. A disease which is spreading like aggressive cancer.

Why would I accept a disease?

Surely, the great WG Grace’s soul is not happy.     

Twenty20 has not only hampered the classic flavour of the game, but most importantly, it has established a platform for match-fixing and spot-fixing.

ED Hawkins in his book “Bookie Gambler and Spy” has written: Lord Condon, the first head of ACSU, claiming that the introduction of Twenty20 Cricket – especially the Indian Premier League – which launched in 2008 – had reinvigorated the corruptors. Condon, still in service, said in the summer of 2009 that the ‘hit and giggle’ format represented the biggest challenge to integrity of cricket for ten years. He may as well have added, in the case of IPL, disparate groups of players signed to franchises to whom they had no loyalty or sense of belonging”.

 It’s never an easy task to fix a Test match. As it requires a huge amount of patience and study to understand the intricacies of five-day matches. Above all, it requires enough time to follow the twist and turns of Test matches. So the shorter the format, the easier it is to play the game of spot-fixing and thus, since the commencement of Twenty20 and it’s Leagues, spot-fixing has become a must practice unofficially. 

While the International Cricket Council (ICC) continuously assures about maintaining the dignity of the game, a bunch of lusty cricket officials, bookmakers, businessmen and so-called media personalities and celebrities just continue to come up with new sort of rubbishes to dent the integrity of the game.

***

The name of the new joke is T10 Cricket League.  According to the Australian, “Virender Sehwag, Chris Gayle, Shahid Afridi and Kumar Sangakkara have all signed for the Ten Cricket League, which will feature eight subcontinental themed franchises: Team Punjabis, Team Pakhtoons, Team Maratha, Team Banglas, Team Lankans, Team Sindhis and Team Keralites. Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq and brilliant Bangladesh Test allrounder Shakib Al Hasan will also feature in the tournament.

Games last 90 minutes, the tournament is done in a matter of days and fans are advised to be seated on time lest they miss an innings or a match”.

Already, the world cricket has suffered a lot due to Twnety20 and now what would T10 inject? If Twenty20 format is like cancer then T10 would be equivalent to AIDS. Isn’t it a fertile platform to fix more matches and earn more cash? What hurt me more when I saw some of the greats of the game to endorse this concept and left praising about it. And I certainly, experienced an anginal pain when I read the name of Shakib Al Hasan.

Now, here is a player who requested Bangladesh Cricket Board for a break from Test series against South Africa despite taking lesser workloads than Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali. But he won’t be exhausted playing nano cricket and limited-overs formats. The travelling, parties and endorsements etc. etc. won’t exhaust the best allrounder. Isn’t it too funny?  

While the South African pacers devastated Bangladesh in Potchefstroom, Shakib’s name flashed in sports websites – He is one of the iconic players of this joke of a format. Kumar Sangakkara, Virender Sehwag or Misbah-ul-Haq are retired and don’t have the responsibility of serving the nation, but Shakib is not yet a retired cricketer. He must not forget, Test cricket is still the platform where legends are born. Being one of his fans, I always want to see him end his career as one of the legends of the game but not a cartoon character who prefers playing nano cricket more.

***

When Twnety20 was unleashed, none ever thought, it would transform into a malignant tumour. Its metastasis has been fast and still, no appropriate treatment is discovered to treat this aggressive cancer. Now, the commencement of T10 might lead the cricketing world to experience a new disease named AIDS, the treatment of which is an uphill task. A patient experiences a cruel death due to the decrease of CD4 lymphocytes.

In the gullies of Dhaka, we used to play ten or five overs a side cricket matches in 80s and 90s. This practice is still active. Those were fun, but never could be termed as the ideal format of the game. How justified is it to brand a gully cricket? Can batting or bowling one and half hours to two hours judge the technique and temperament of a cricketer? Isn’t bowling two or four overs a joke? Isn’t the battle between batsmen vs batsmen a sick thing to witness day after day?

Already, Test cricket is affected badly by Twnety20 – a batsman cannot spend a long time at the wicket, the flow of quality pacers have dried out, bowlers don’t swing the ball, spinners concentrate on accuracy more than turn and above all, role models like Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Frank Worrell, Sir Don Bradman, Sir Vivian Richards, Michael Holding, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Arjuna Ranatunga, Allan Border etc. are missing. Meanwhile, the 50-over format seems to be losing its shine day by day.

The below-average players are ruling the roost in world cricket which was unthinkable in 80s and 90s. Now, if T10 makes a permanent position in the international circuit, it would be alarming for the existence of longer formats and in the end, what would be left is, a show where cash and alcohol flow in plenty with sex and scandals its part and parcel.

William Pollard said, “Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow”. Indeed, the International Cricket Council and highly influential cricket boards should not lose their sense and sensibility while discussing T10 cricket. Too much of anything is never good. Along with the devastation of world cricket, the doomsday of respective Cricket Boards and businessmen might also become a reality.

Note: This article is published on Cricketsoccer on 05/07/2017 T10 Cricket League: Another joke? Another disease?

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

Slow progress is better than no progress

Life seems to stand still. While the rest have moved at a rapid pace, it seems, your life is stuck somewhere despite your efforts. But as a matter of fact, you're not stuck, but your progress is slow and in life, a slow progress is better than no progress. Each and every effort of yours matter and which is providing the oil for your progress. Yes, efforts mean a lot as they're vital to your development. So never stop but keep working. You lose when you stop.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

Sri Lanka's morale boosting victory

After Kumar Sangakkara left the scene, Sri Lankan cricket was in a rebuilding process. Some exciting talents did burst into the scene, but the results were frustrating. We kept on assuring ourselves, Sri Lankan cricket is going through a transition period, but it when the amount of humiliations increase day by day, the logic of transition doesn’t seem to work further. A defeat against one of the low-ranked sides in world cricket, who hardly plays active cricket, becomes hard to digest.

Then a heavy thrashing at own backyard without even exhibiting minimum amount of fight, indicate, one of the best sides of subcontinent, are following the path of West Indies, who failed to handle their own transition period after the retirement of greats.

Sri Lankan cricket needed a huge morale boost and to uplift the confidence, a victory was much needed. One was not sure when it would arrive.

On the final day of first Test at Abu Dhabi against Pakistan, when Yasir Shah was on a roll, it seemed, Sri Lanka’s miseries have no ending and one has to wait more for their bounce back. But, Test cricket is such a funny game. It always offers something special when you have thought of a forgone conclusion.

And, when the team is Pakistan, one should not give up the hope of a drama.

Chasing 136 to win, with plenty of time and overs left, Pakistan exhibited their usual impulsive nature. The top and middle order crumbled against the wrecker-in-chief of fourth innings, Rangana Herath and all of a sudden, Sri Lanka, who were down and out, for most of the times, sensed an unlikely victory.  

Ultimately, Pakistan collapsed in fourth innings – loss of ten wickets on final day happened to them on five occasions since 2016 and at once they lost nine. So like Bangladesh, Pakistan also have been poor performers on final day in recent times.

But Pakistan’s capitulation would do Sri Lanka a world of good. They were waiting for something to happen to boost their confidence and finally, at Abu Dhabi, they have achieved one of the most memorable comebacks to enlighten their transition period.

I am extremely happy that Sri Lanka won as because, they needed it very much and it was good for Test cricket as well. It’s never something delightful to see a quality team get lost during the period of transition.     

Thank You

Faisal Caesar