No system for foreign staff

National cricketers have been falling victim of injury one after the other, with wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim becoming the latest casualty to join Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed, Mehedi Hasan Miraz and Nasir Hossain. The Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB's) medical team under the guidance of Dr. Debashish Chowdhury has been looking after the injury issues but many are curious to know where the national team physiotherapist Thihan Chandramohan is.

Chandramohan is now on leave. The other foreign support staff of the national team are also enjoying holidays at a time when there is no international assignment for the Tigers.

BCB's cricket operations committee, who are taking care of all the affairs regarding the national team, is supposed to chalk out the programmes detailing the duties of the staff, including when they each will go on vacation and what they will do during the national team's down time. It may be mentioned here that the BCB CEO approved the leaves.

In reality however, the cricket operations committee know hardly anything regarding these important issues and that is the reason why there was no answer when asked why Chandramohan has been enjoying such a lengthy break -- since the Nidahas Trophy that ended on March 18 -- and is absent at such a crucial time.

It is very natural that the foreign staff will go on leave as per the terms and conditions in their contracts, but according to sources there is no system in place during such injury gluts and the board has hardly any plans and off-time programmes to follow.

It was learnt that a system was in place before former Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha assumed complete authority over all national team affairs, including who will go on leave and when.

Despite the Sri Lankan leaving the job in October last year, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is yet to put a proper system in place and the cricket operations committee, under the leadership of former national skipper Akram Khan, also failed to take the initiative to make sure that there will be a proper plan and programme throughout the year.

This issue may come up for discussion during today's board meeting at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur in an attempt to reinstate the system. With the host of injuries to national players, there is little doubt that the matter deserves proper attention beside all other important agendas.