Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has confirmed that the 2011 World Cup preparations will not hurt this season's domestic calendar.
Country's major cricket venues in Dhaka and Chittagong are under construction for the showcase event, which will be inaugurated on February 17 next year at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. As co-hosts, Bangladesh will stage eight matches including two of the quarterfinals. That gave rise to the whispers that the game's governing body may cut short this season's calendar but BCB's tournament committee chairman Gazi Ashraf Hossain said they have no such plans.
"We can assure everyone that all the domestic competitions will take place as per schedule and as far as I know the season's calendar is all but complete. True, there is an issue with the availability of the major venues like Mirpur, Fatullah and Chittagong due to construction work but we are focusing on the other venues across the country to run the show in this season," assured Gazi Ashraf yesterday.
"There is no uncertainty over any competition including premier division cricket league but some matches may be held outside Dhaka due to time constraint. We must complete all the competitions by January next year. You know the clubs have already started roping in their favoured players," he added.
The season is likely to kick off with the women's national league from September 15, which will be followed by longer-version competition of the National Cricket League (NCL).
Gazi Ashraf informed that they would stick to the changed format they had made last season. The governing body overhauled the country's lone first-class competition last year brining wholesale changes which has reduced the number of games due to shifting of league format.
"Though initially many opposed the new format but later everyone praised it. The short duration of the tournament and intensity of the competition made us believe that this format is effective for us," said Ashraf, a former national skipper.
As per draft calendar, the Premier Division T20 will start from November 27 after the completion of the NCL longer-version and then the most coveted 50-over competition will likely start from December 8. The NCL one-day competition, which wasn't held last year due to time constraint, will take place after conclusion of the premier league.
Everything however will be finalised after getting the go-ahead from cricket operations committee as there are some international commitments during that time. New Zealand will arrive on September 20 to play two Tests and three one-day matches while the board is also planning a tri-nation one-day tournament after that involving West Indies and Zimbabwe. There are also scheduled tours for the second string Bangladesh A team.
Gazi Ashraf also informed that they are working on bringing changes to the character of the pitches in domestic competitions. "We must come out of the spin-oriented pitches. We must give our pace bowlers enough opportunity to explore in the domestic scene so that our cricketer can compete well at the international stage," said Ashraf.
Source: thedailystar.net
