The Bangladesh Cricket Board looks to introduce three-day first-class matches for the Bangladesh national women’s team to get them to adapt to the longer version of cricket so that they can start playing Tests in the near future.
Following a ten-year stint in international cricket, the former Asian Champions managed to get their Test status on April 1, 2021, alongside Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, but the side has yet to participate in a Test match.
The BCB chief executive officer, Nizamuddin Chowdhury, told New Age that, to ensure the women’s team’s participation in red-ball cricket, they first need to introduce the three-day first-class games in the domestic circuit, which the women’s team needs to play in order to get adapted gradually to the longer version of the game and eventually start playing Test cricket.
Till now, women’s team players have taken part in only one first-class competition, the maiden Bangladesh Cricket League featuring two-day matches, which was held this year.
The first-class competition included three sides: Padma, Meghna, and Jamuna.
‘Primarily, we need to make our girls ready for Test cricket. You know there is a Future Tour Plan for women’s cricket, which is up to 2025,’ said the BCB CEO.
‘We have to move gradually to make sure their appearances in Test cricket.’
He further affirmed that the board is already in the process of getting the women’s team ready for the longer format of cricket, and in its continuation, they are all set to hold the three-day first-class games from next season.
‘Our girls are yet to play a three-day game. They only have the experience of playing in a few two-day matches, which isn’t enough preparation for playing a Test match. As you know, red-ball cricket is quite a different game than others and requires massive preparations.’
Veteran Bangladesh women’s team campaigner Rumana Ahmed also echoed the BCB chief executive officer, adding that the two-day matches that they played during the maiden BCL would be helpful when they start playing Tests.
‘Each and everything requires preparation. I think we should move forward as per the process that will bear fruit for us,’ said Rumana.
‘It won’t be wise to start playing international red-ball games too early, as we need to play a sizeable number of practice matches and go through specific training. The bottom line is that we need to prepare ourselves properly for the format.’
‘We just took part in a single competition with two-day matches, which I think was the beginning of our journey to play Test cricket. I hope the board will be proceeding gradually in this regard,’ she concluded.
