Even after 24 years of attaining Test status, Bangladesh has not been able to improve in the royal version of cricket. Aminul Islam Bulbul thinks that the country's weak first-class cricket structure is responsible for the lack of improvement.
When first class cricket like National Cricket League (NCL), Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL) takes place, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) does not see much campaign. Nominally only the scorecard of the day's games is given. However, BCB does not spare any effort in organizing the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). As much as the audience is interested in BPL, not so much in first class cricket. Bulbul's regret is here. The former captain of Bangladesh told the media in Dubai yesterday, 'If we could have campaigned closer to the way we campaigned in BPL, first class cricket would have been better. And first-class cricket getting better means the Test team getting better too.'
Bangladesh's first-class cricket is regularly criticized. In the NCL, four-day matches are sometimes completed in two days. NCL is also called a 'picnic' mood league due to the high number of uncontested matches. Its influence can be seen in the national team as well. Bangladesh lost the second Test of the recently concluded South Africa series in Chittagong in just three days. The former captain of Bangladesh said, 'The first-class cricket we have is still like a picnic. How many people know that we now have first class cricket! Would have been very happy if first class cricket was day and night. A few days ago I was saying that day-night first-class cricket should be made in Sharjah. We can attract visitors to it. Stadiums should be branded. When there is first-class cricket, the remuneration should be tripled.'
Bulbul thinks Bangladesh's position could have been better in the Test. Explaining why it didn't happen, he said, 'One more big problem we have is that cricket is Dhaka-centric. If we could spread cricket across the country, from upazila to district, from district to division, if we could introduce two-three-four-day cricket there, maybe the current position of our cricket in 24 years would have been better.'
