Ashraful thanks BCB for fitness program
Mohammad Ashraful
|| CF Correspondent ||
Bangladesh batsman Mohammad Ashraful said that he welcomes Bangladesh Cricket Board's fitness test program initiative as that will help them to prepare in a more systematic way ahead of the first-class competition.
BCB officials said that they have emphasized seriously on the players' fitness and chalked those who will fail to cross the fitness standard, who are likely to be ineligible to take part in the tournament.
BCB decided to have three fitness camps in a year to assess the condition of their first-class players as 78 players are currently under the pay-structure of the board.
After the first fitness camp that will end of September 15, those who will fail to reach the required standard will have the chance to give a fitness test in the second fitness camp that is scheduled to start before Bangladesh Cricket League, the country's lone franchise-based first-class tournament.
“Certainly it is good initiative,” said Ashraful. “We have seen that it took two to three games to get back the required fitness when we play the first-class tournament.”
It was observed that a lot of players take the National Cricket League (NCL) as a place for rehabilitation for the injury that they sustained throughout the year and prepare themselves instead for the Dhaka Premier League.
The target of this [fitness program] is to ensure the first-class cricketers match or are close to the fitness level of the national team cricketers.
The lack of competitiveness and below-par standards of the domestic first-class competition – the NCL – has been a common feature of Bangladesh cricket for many years.
In the 18 years since getting the Test status, Bangladesh's improvement in the longest version of cricket has not matched their progress in limited-overs versions and that has consistently led to the issues plaguing domestic first-class competitions to be highlighted.
