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Bangladesh cricket is celebrating the silver jubilee of its status as a Test-playing nation, having achieved full ICC member status 25 years ago on this day during a meeting at Lord’s.

Under its new president, Aminul Islam, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has taken initiatives such as the Pacer Hunt programme, six-a-side cricket tournaments, involving parents in cricket enthusiasm, and felicitating the members of the squad from the first Test against India in November 2000.Ìý

‘Test cricket is the biggest identity of cricket in this country,’ said Aminul in a programme on Wednesday.

Ìý‘We are working so that we can focus more on this. Our objective is to work on the fact that people love cricket and want to embrace it. We are moving forward successfully.’Ìý

Aminul may perceive his brief tenure as the leader of the country’s cricket as a success, yet one must reflect on the extent to which cricket has developed in the nation over the past 25 years.Ìý

The statistics are discouraging, especially when considering the increased opportunities to participate in top-level sports compared to many of its predecessors.

The second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo is Bangladesh’s 154th game in the format. That is the second highest number of matches, only after Sri Lanka’s 167 games, among the countries in the first 25 years of becoming a Test-playing team.Ìý

If we consider the results of the first 150 Tests of each team, Bangladesh only surpassed New Zealand in terms of wins.Ìý

But it took New Zealand 53 years to play as many Tests as Bangladesh, whereas Zimbabwe are yet to reach the landmark of 150 games.Ìý

An away series victory against Pakistan last year, coupled with home wins over England and Australia, as well as an away triumph against New Zealand, remain Bangladesh's most significant achievements to date.Ìý

Khaled Mashud, who played 44 Tests, including the inaugural one, and captained Bangladesh in 12 matches, thinks that cricket hasn’t moved forward.Ìý

‘I will say, our cricket hasn’t moved forward in the last 25 years. We should have been in a position where we could beat the likes of Australia and India regularly. Because, you know how cricket crazy our nation is! You don’t get that in most of the countries where cricket is the most popular sport!’ Mashud told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· from Hamburg in Germany, where he was on holiday.Ìý

Mashud sees problems in both players’ mentality and lack of proper structure and planning from the administrators.Ìý

Looking back to the inception days, Mashud said, ‘We didn’t think of playing Tests in our lifetime because back then we hardly played ODIs. We were not used to playing longer formats, as we played 50-over cricket.Ìý

‘When we were into playing Test cricket, we were like thrown into the sea straight from a pond. It was a difficult time for us in Test cricket in the first couple of years.’

However, there were hopes when a new generation of talented players in the likes of Mohammad Ashraful and Aftab Ahmed came through. But now, Mashud sees a gap again.Ìý

‘If you plant a tree, at one point that will stop growing. In cricket, that’s why you need players in the next generation,’ he explained.Ìý

‘The players [of the current generation] failed to knock the door hard when the likes of Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim were dominating.Ìý

‘I think our players are content with little. Once they get the chance to play in the national team, once they get some financial benefits, it seems like they stop dreaming.’

But Mashud doesn’t want to put the blame solely on the players.Ìý

He said, ‘You’ll need some people around you to guide you. If the likes of Liton Das or Soumya Sarkar had the ability to score a hundred 10-12 years ago, then why can't they mature enough now? Our environment is not good.’

There was no first-class cricket structure when Bangladesh gained Test status. Still, the decentralisation is a far cry in the country’s cricket, as it is predominantly based in Dhaka.Ìý

‘Since gaining the Test status, there should have been more detailed planning around cricket. It’s like they are happy with day-to-day activities. There might be some plans, but those are not long-term,’ said Mashud.Ìý

‘There should have been a proper guideline and structure in terms of administration and cricket. In my opinion, a proper system should be established.Ìý

‘There is no shortage of talents in our country. There are many more Shakibs and Mashrafes, but they go unnoticed as they don’t get the nursing,’ the former wicketkeeper-batter added.Ìý

‘I can give you an example: the BCB could take initiatives to enrol some physical education teachers of the schools in level one or level two coaching. But there were no such initiatives!’

Mashud believes that individuals like Faruque Ahmed and Aminul cannot bring about overnight changes in cricket.Ìý

‘People in our country are self-centred. But it’s imperative that all the people be on the same boat if you want to execute something well.’

‘I think the Papon [Nazmul Hasan] Bhai-led board got a massive opportunity to take cricket to the next level because he had the power and backing from the top. But that wasn’t the case. Ìý

‘I hope everything will change in our new journey; I hope the right people will come along,’ concluded Mashud.Ìý

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