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DOES BANGLADESH DESERVE TEST STATUS

© Sarosh Elahi

Recently the Bangladesh team were given full test status by the ICC this news sent the whole Bengali nation into a state of euphoria. Personally this came as a surprise to me as I did not expect the ICC to make such a decision. I don't think the Bangladesh team are good enough for international cricket their performances on the international scene have been gravely disappointing. Inducting them into international cricket might not be such a good idea.

A country like Bangladesh where the sport is very popular but where there is a dearth of talent will take a long time to come up to international standards. Similar experiments with Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe have shown that new teams take a lay of time to adjust to the high standards of international cricket. The result of such a situation is that audiences lose interest in matches involving such new teams when they are matched with the more established ones.

With no domestic setup in the country I find it very difficult to comprehend the fact that the Bengali team can match the big guns within the next two to three years. The example of Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe is in front of us . These two teams started of at the same time and they have only been able to win one world cup between them. Sri Lanka improved tremendously in 96 but Zimbabwe have yet to prove their worth in my eyes .

Some people have been suggesting that international exposure will help in setting up a domestic setup in the country. I believe this will not happen and in order to set up a domestic league the sports authority will have to spend money and will have to hire foreign coaches and former players who can guide their players and bring them up to international level.

Participation in the English county league as a foreign team might also help Bangladesh's cause as this will give these new players to a chance to play with the more experienced veterans. The ICC should infect ensure such a move and then outline the fact that success in the county championship will make the team eligible for international test status.

Further more the induction of new members should be stopped immediately and no other team should be considered up until the next world cup. Another step in the right direction would be to make the Bengali team play weaker opponents like Zimbabwe instead of strong teams like Australia and South Africa . Foreign tours which involve playing against B teams of various country's would also help the Bangladesh team in preparing them to match the more established sides.

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