‘Plucking U19 players directly for national team not ideal’

The Asian Champions Bangladesh Under-19 team will soon fly to South Africa in pursuit of their second ICC Under-19 World Cup, which begins on January 19. The Daily Star's Mazhar Uddin caught up with Bangladesh Cricket Board's game development committee chairman Khaled Mahmud Sujon where he spoke about his expectations from the upcoming event and about preparing future stars in an exclusive interview.

The excerpts of the interview are given below:

The Daily Star (DS): How's the preparation for the upcoming ICC Under-19 World Cup?

Khaled Mahmud Sujon (KMS): I think we had a good preparation. We have been working together for the past 18-20 months now. We toured a lot, played a good number of matches, we brought good coaches and developed the facilities. So overall, I think we were able to prepare well. The team has gelled together, the boys are playing as a team which was our first priority.

DS: Do you think the expectations from the Under-19 team have increased since winning the World Cup and Asia Cup?

KMS: It certainly has since winning the World Cup. We couldn't do well in the last U-19 World Cup due to the Covid-19 pandemic where our preparation was very poor and we couldn't tour much. Our boys are used to playing at home and to be honest, you can't develop without playing abroad. This is the reason why we couldn't do well in the previous tournament.

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DS: Do the boys feel the pressure of expectation?

KMS: We don't burden them with any pressure. I fully agree with Law (U-19 team head coach Stuart Law) that the process is very important at this level and if the process is right the result will definitely come. Even if we are unable to meet our expectations this time around, I won't be disappointed because our process was right. I think it's very important to develop the pipeline at this level. From that point of view, we focus on preparing future stars for the national team. Many members of the Akbar Ali-led team that won the World Cup have gone on to represent the national team which is pleasing for us. We also want players from this squad to represent the national team on their merit. Obviously, we all want to win a tournament but we don't want them to feel under pressure about it. We want them to learn how to build the innings, score a hundred, bowl long spells and other things like that.

DS: How should players from U-19 level transition into the national team?

KMS: I think there should be a bridge between the U-19 and the national team but it has to be a long one. I don't believe that only talent can help you get into the national team as I think there's a huge difference between the U-19 level and the national team. Players are analysed more in the national team compared to age-level so it will be tougher for them once they get to the national team. So before going to the national team, I think they should get enough opportunities in the High Performance unit and A team to develop themselves. I think we should increase away tours of the A team, HP unit and the Bangla Tigers.

DS: Do you think the tendency of bringing age-level cricketers directly to the national team is ideal?

KMS: Not really. I think they are still kids and it's our job to prepare them in the HP unit or in the A team. The reason most players directly jump to the national team is because they are very fit and they also remain fearless due to their young age which probably catches the eyes of selectors. But I don't think this should be a regular practice as U-19 is such a level where the players should elevate themselves to the HP level. Once they are mature enough, they should represent the national team which will make things a lot easier for them.

DS: Do you think success in age-level gets more highlighted because of the lack of success in the senior level in Bangladesh?

KMS: Look, the national team hasn't won the World Cup nor the Asia Cup, the U-19 team has and that's why it gets more highlighted. I think we are a big team at the junior level because of our process. I don't think any other team in world cricket gives such emphasis on age-level groups like us. Other teams start their World Cup campaign six or eight months before the tournament and they don't play that many matches or go on as many tours compared to us. I thank the BCB since it bears the cost of those tours. These boys feel that they are a big team at the U-19 level. This is the reason why the likes of Towhid Hridoy and others are mentally so strong.

DS: Do you view the U-19 level as a development programme or a result-oriented one?

KMS: Look, the initial goal is development since they are part of the game development group. But when you compete at the world level, obviously the result is also important. We work to prepare them mentally, physically and skill wise and give them the opportunity to play in different environments and conditions. Whenever we play the World Cup, we think of doing well. If we don't do well, one section of our people would say we have a poor pipeline and don't have enough players. To be honest, the ones who say such things don't have any idea of what a pipeline is. I see some of them talk on television but they don't know how Bangladesh cricket works. The process we follow to scout players is not easy and they actually demean a lot of people who are involved in this process at the root level like district coaches, selectors or those who work in the development committee. So, I will say we have a strong pipeline.

DS: There are whispers about some players of the squad being over 19 and also some have called for allowing a player to appear at the Under-19 World Cup only once. What's your take on that?

KMS: We are very serious about this issue. We have done bone testing and the BCB is very strict. We get a lot of requests, but we don't allow any irregularities. I don't know what was the situation 10 years back but since I have taken over the role, we have maintained it strictly. We have a system in place where if we have any confusion, we recheck the issue. And look, if a player's age allows it, why shouldn't we include them?