Bangladesh's top players likely to go on strike ahead of India tour

Bangladesh's top international cricketers have called for an unprecedented press conference on Monday afternoon with some of the country's media reports suggesting that they could go on strike and skip next month's tour of India. There are a lot of grievances & disagreements going on between the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the country's cricketers over how the game is to be run in the country, with star player Shakib al Hasan being very vocal about it recently.

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BCB’s decision to discontinue the BPL’s franchise-based model last month has not gone down well with the Bangladesh cricketers because the earnings of an average professional cricketer have hit an all-time low. The BCB is said to have not considered raising match fees in the first-class competition that began earlier this month. 

Cricketers are suppressed in Bangladesh: Shakib

Shakib ah Hasan, the Test and T20I captain of Bangladesh, said in a recent interview to a media portal that cricketers were 'suppressed' and they must be treated better.

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In another interview to a Dhaka-based publication on Monday, Shakib said that he didn’t see any long-term planning in Bangladesh cricket as they only focus on whatever series currently taking place. But if it was something like a World Cup, then they plan six to eight months in advance. Otherwise, the focus remains on just the ongoing series, which is nothing but a cultural issue. The experienced cricketer feels that while it is natural for people to expect the team to win a lot of cricket matches, but planting a tree and craving fruits the very next day is not possible. 

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BCB needs someone with foresight: Shakib

The Bangladesh Test captain added that the guardians of the country's cricket play a big role as it is important for them to be firm about supporting the players. As a result, Shakib feels that the board needs a long-term policymaker at the helm as Bangladesh's problems are more technical and administrative in nature. He endorses taking current ODI world champions England's example for the way they rebranded themselves after getting knocked out in the first round of the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Led by Andrew Strauss, England went to create a four-year plan which bore fruit with a memorable 2019 World Cup win on home soil. 

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