The curious case of NCL's older stars

Being in and around the national team periphery can help cricketers remain in contention to earn their place in the national team, but not if they are of a certain age. Players who have played a few matches in the national team but have not earned their place back are usually above 30. The case of Imrul Kayes, who played his last Test for Bangladesh in 2019 and is set to retire from first-class cricket on 16th November, is of that same ilk.

The performances in the National Cricket League (NCL) are not a barometer; the specific nature of the challenge in selecting players from a month-long tournament perhaps overlooks that red-ball stars need more exposure throughout the year. Current selector Abdur Razzak was perhaps the only example of an older star returning at the age of 36, albeit for one Test against Sri Lanka in 2018, through NCL performances.

Imrul feels that there is no plan in place regarding players of a certain age in Bangladesh's cricket culture.

"You can see what priority was given to age-level players in the BPL [Bangladesh Premier League], even ones who did not play a single season of BPL. To come up the ranks, we had to play well in two to four editions. Sometimes people get things easily, and that's our problem. We always think that the class of 19 will bring solutions, but ultimately the older stars have to perform," Imrul told The Daily Star yesterday.

Imrul argued that he has not been playing first-class cricket frequently in recent years, as his intention was not to return to the national team anymore.

"I used to play previously because there was a plan to get into the national team, and I felt there was a plan regarding me. But honestly, that's not there anymore. I play now because of my career, the feel-good factor, and because young players enjoy playing with us," he added.

The NCL's challenge has increased over the years, and Imrul agrees but points out that only stats-based assessment is made.

"Player-wise, our quality has increased in our first-class cricket… but some players don't survive long in internationals. The plan we play cricket in, that's not done in any other country.

"Ultimately, we just see flat-out how many runs someone scored or how many wickets someone got. We don't see in what situation those runs or wickets were taken. We don't verify those things," he said.

National team selector Hannan Sarkar yesterday mentioned players such as 35-year-old Marshall Ayub, who scored 369 runs at an average of 61, alongside the likes of Imrul, Shamsur Rahman, and Naeem Islam, during a press meet, suggesting they will be considered in future.

However, Hannan also pointed out the quality gap between the NCL and international cricket, as someone like Mominul Haque had highlighted after a Test against Sri Lanka recently. Imrul argued that players need exposure to play international Tests.

"You can't base [selection] on the NCL to think about the Test team. You need to have 30–40 players under BCB [Bangladesh Cricket Board] to get performances throughout the year. These players need to be playing longer versions throughout the year.

"You can't rely on a one-and-a-half-month tournament and think you can select players from there. It's difficult. You see that players who don't play BPL are only watching games. Why can't we build a curriculum so they are amid games?"