The New Nation - Internet Edition

ABM Moniruddin

The overall performance of our test cricketers is very dull & disappointing. Still we don't like to remain immersed in the disappointing sea. We must retrieve our test cricket from the hard shell of disappointment. Thence the BCB, the selectors & the players must be more & more careful & responsive. We know that the test cricket is a game of experience, fitness & performance. The performance of our ever best batsman Habibul Bashar Suman for the last two years is being found very dark & dull. Considering his age & recent poor, non-responsive performance, he should no longer be kept as an ODI & test player.

Before being properly matured & nourished, Mushfiqur Rahim is forcibly kept in our test cricket - that made an easy topic to question our test status. His repeated failure in the test arena is making a vista to expel him from test squad permanently. BCB can't overlook its such sort of irresponsive responsibility. BCB couldn't rear up & nourish many of our promising talented cricketers like Mehrab Hossain Opee, Shahriar Hossain Bidyut, Hannan Sircar, Ehsanul Hoq Shejan, Nafis Iqbal & so on.

If we pose blind faith in Coach Sidonce, we shall have to repent a lot. Gordon Grenich, Dave Whitemore were much better than & superior to Sidonce.

If Khaled Masud is to be kept outside the test squad, the selectors had better option like Dhiman Ghose & Anwar Hossain. Besides that none of us could understand the reason of keeping Khaled Masud outside the test squad despite his brilliant performance in the last National Cricket League. A player must be considered for the national team when he is at the top of his form & fitness. Similarly, despite brilliant performance of Rajin Saleh in the last National Cricket League, he was kept sitting idle during the last Newzealnd tour of our national team, thus to earn a heart-rending perfect failure by the national team.

The best cricketer of our present generation Sakibul Hassan was kept outside the eleven squad in the first test during the last Newzealnd tour. Javed Omar is always known as a genuine test player. Up till now, he is the most experienced test opener of our national team. Yet he is also known as one of the best fielders with enough fitness of our national team. We wonder that despite brilliant performance of this Javed Omar in the last National Cricket League, he was kept outside the test squad during the last Newzealnd tour. Ex-cricketer Minhajul Abedin Nannu & late-cricketer Manjarul Islam Rana were similarly neglected by the then BCB authority & the then selectors. The then BCB authority & the then selectors were thus questioned & hated by the cricket-lovers.

The cricket giants of the world were surprised at the absence of our best all-rounder Mohammad Rafiq in the test squad during the last Newzealnd tour.We believe that in-formed cricketers like Khaled Masud, Rajin Saleh, Aloke Kapali need not any replacement at this moment. Enamul Hoq Junior is not yet capable of replacing our best all-rounder Mohammad Rafiq. We are afraid of thinking that if the best performers of our last National Cricket League are not considered for the coming cricket matches, we may have to say 'Good-bye test cricket' for a year or two like Zimbabwe. We like to see the best all-rounder Mosharref Hossain Rubel of last National Cricket League in the coming ODI & test matches. Because he proved his efficiency in both one-day & four-day matches. Even, like many others, our best all-rounder Mohammad Rafiq praised highly to see him (all-rounder Mosharref Hossain Rubel) in international cricket arena specially mentioning the coming South Africa tour in Bangladesh. The outstanding performers of the last National Cricket League Nazimuddin, Rakibul Hassan, Imrul Quais, Imran Ahmed, Dollar Mahmud should also be considered for our test & ODI squads in accordance to their respective merits.

It is of course claimed that if a team is formed by the best performers of last National Cricket League, the newly formed team would be stronger than the test team that just concluded the Newzealand tour. If few practice matches are arranged between the two proposed teams, the truth might come to light. We expect that the selectors would be more careful & responsible in selecting our players for the coming test & ODI matches. Otherwise, as a nation we shall have to pay a lot.