NEW DELHI:
Chandika Hathurusinghe
, the coach of the Bangladesh cricket team, has raised concerns about the
Bangladesh Premier League
(
BPL
), asserting that it has not contributed significantly to the development of
T20 cricket
in the country.
Hathurusinghe highlighted a lack of local participation in key roles such as batting and bowling, with clubs overly reliant on foreign players during critical moments of the game.
He urged the
International Cricket Council
(ICC) to intervene and implement regulations to address the issue of players participating in multiple tournaments within the same window.
"We [Bangladesh] don't have a proper T20 tournament. This sounds very odd. When I am watching the BPL, I sometimes turn off the TV. Some players are not even of the [required] class. I have a big issue with the current system. The ICC need to step in," Hathurusinghe expressed in an interview with ESPNcricinfo.
"A player is playing one tournament and then he is playing another tournament. It is like a circus. Players will talk about opportunities, but that's not right. People will lose interest. I have lost interest."
Hathurusinghe emphasized the importance of providing Bangladesh players with significant responsibilities within the BPL, such as batting in the top order and bowling in crucial stages of the game.
He suggested that a separate tournament for local players should be organized by the
Bangladesh Cricket Board
(BCB) before the BPL to enhance their T20 experience.
"We need to have a tournament where our players can do things like batting in the top three... Bangladesh bowlers bowling in the death. Where will we learn these things otherwise? We have only one tournament," Hathurusinghe remarked.
While some teams in the current BPL season have relied heavily on foreign players in their top three positions, Hathurusinghe advocated for greater involvement of local talents to elevate the standard of Bangladesh cricket.
"My suggestion is that we have another tournament before the BPL. The franchises do what they want. Some of the best players are not playing. Then how do you expect the Bangladesh team to be up with the other teams? I am fighting a steep battle," he concluded.
(With inputs from ANI)
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