[Miraz]

The interview will be published soon as a BC article.

Some key points from the interview in advance for the members.

BanglaCricket : Seven years after awarding Test status, Bangladeshi batsmen are still struggling with technique and temperament. Don’t you think it was enough time to overcome the problem?
Aminul Islam Bulbul: Lack of competitive first class structure is the main reason behind the poor show of our batsmen in the Test arena. Cricket is a mental game; you need to develop required skill, determination and competitiveness from the domestic structure. We are severely lacking in that front. Until we revamp our domestic system we will continue our struggle in the Test arena. Moreover our team is young has got somewhat fragile mindset, they need a full time sports psychologist to cope with the pressures of international cricket. Sports psychology is a very important part of modern cricket that we have ignored till date.
BanglaCricket : We always hear about lack of structure of our domestic cricket. Can you shed some more light into it?
Aminul Islam Bulbul: When we played domestic cricket back in 1990’s, we had a very competitive limited over tournament. Players like Neil Fairbrother, Wasim Akram, and Arjuna Ranatunga regularly played club cricket in Bangladesh. It helped to raise our quality of cricket in one day format and with time we ended up as a good one day team. On the contrary, after gaining Test status, we failed to develop a competitive first class competition. National Cricket League, which is the only 4 day tournament in Bangladesh, is played in a picnic mood. There is lack of planning, facilities and overall format of the National Cricket League which is holding us back. A picnic style first class cricket can never make players ready for the challenges of Test cricket. For that very reason, we are not getting quality players from domestic circuit and are depending on age group players to carry us forward. This type of stop gap solution can only ruin the long term prospect of Bangladesh cricket.
Due to the flawed domestic structure, we do not have sufficient quality player in the pipeline. We don’t have a dedicated Academy team or A team, we are sharing players between the two teams which is not an ideal situation.

BanglaCricket : What are your suggestions to improve the first class cricket structure of Bangladesh?
Aminul Islam Bulbul: BCB must put proper emphasis on the domestic circuit and not the opposite. The cricket development committee should co-ordinate cricket throughout the country and it has to be decentralized through regional cricket centres. Bangladesh Cricket Board had a plan to establish Regional Cricket Centres even before gaining the elite status; we must establish them with proper facilities without any further delay. These regional centres will co-ordinate with District Cricket Associations and will ensure regular local leagues. They will also provide necessary training and facilities to the local authorities to run the show.
BCB should provide coach, physio and trainer for every first class team. They should be properly trained before assigning the responsibilities.
Each divisional team must have their own age group teams and A teams to make the players ready for the top level domestic cricket. In this way players will fight for their places in the first class team of the division and will develop the competitive attitude. I have witnessed this type of first class system in Australia, England and even Sri Lanka have the similar system.
One of the major strengths of Bangladesh cricket is School Cricket. About 1,000 schools participate in each year’s school cricket competition. We must introduce 2 day or 3 day competition for the school cricket. It is the perfect level to develop the temperament for the longer version matches.

BanglaCricket : Bangladesh is trying to emulate Australian Model for the last few years.
Aminul Islam Bulbul: I think it is not ideal for a country like Bangladesh to follow Australia as a model. We should follow Sri Lanka as our model. We must take technical input from Cricket Australia but follow Sri Lanka as a model country.
BanglaCricket : This is something new, everyone seems to be happy in following Australian model, any specific reason behind your difference of opinion?
Aminul Islam Bulbul: Definitely Australian model is the most ideal model for developing cricket in any country, but we have to keep in mind that we are a developing country. We can never provide similar infrastructure and facilities to our youngsters or regional teams. They have very different physical structure, fitness level, ground facilities and are a big spender on developing sports. For us it is almost next to impossible to emulate them properly. On the other hand, Sri Lanka is a sub-continental team, they share similar economic strength, culture and physical structure. They have got a very good domestic structure, very well managed with the limited resources they have. They are doing very well in both format of the game and I believe it would be ideal for Bangladesh to follow Sri Lanka as the role model.

There are much more thoughtful answers from Bulbul, wait until the article is published.