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BSP-23
CRICKET-ASH-NCL
NCL no longer a picnic league after BCB’s harsh stance
DHAKA, Oct 6, 2019(BSS)- Bangladesh cricketers admitted that they this time took the National Cricket League (NCL) seriously due to Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) insistence to obtain the required 11 points in the beep test.
As the NCL is always termed as picnic league by the cricket fraternity, the BCB last year introduced beep test, a method to determine the players fitness. Last year the benchmark to pass fitness test was 9, which increased to 11 this year.
The BCB also revealed that the players couldn’t take part in the NCL unless they hit the required 11 points in beep test. The BCB’s stance however left the players in perilous situation and they looked too serious to acquire the required points.
So far two beep tests were held in a bid to give the players a second chance to hit the minimum point. Still the likes of Ashraful, Tushar Imran, Nasir Hossain couldn’t strike the benchmark but they showed drastic improvement.
Former national captain Mohammad Ashraful said that the players didn’t take it seriously in the past since the BCB didn’t impose something harshly on them. Ashraful himself improved his beep test point to 10 from 9.6.
“I don’t know what’s the system is but if it is necessary to give another test, I will do,” he said.
“The NCL will start within three days so now we have to prepare for the beep test in between the game. But I think it’s really positive for all players. At least we could improve our fitness level.”
“To be honest, we didn’t take the NCL seriously in the past. But this time everyone takes it seriously. Everyone gets conscious about his fitness level and playing standard. Since BCB made 11 points mandatory, all players started taking preparation two weeks ago for this, which was not the case in the past.”
National discard pacer Al-Amin Hossain said that the players would have to work intensely on fitness all the year round should they want to hit required 11 points in beep test.
“Beep test and match fitness is different thing but as a player I know that if I want to hit 11 in beep test, I have to work on my fitness all the year round. I can’t sit idle if I am away from the cricket. So if you work on your fitness regularly, you are bound to play well. In this sense it’s good initiative,” he said.
Veteran spinner Abdur Razzak said he didn’t see BCB in such adamant state with some issue in the past. “Performance is the thing that always counts. For a very good performer, there is some consideration but there is always a minimum level which you have to strike. If you can’t, you shouldn’t be spared. This time BCB is in such state that they won’t spare anyone unless they hit the required level. As far as I am concerned they are too serious with it,” Razzak said.
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