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AFRO-ASIAN TOURNAMENT IN CHITTAGONG

Hosts look for an A team

SPORTS REPORTER
lH| Cricket
Chief selector Faruque Ahmed yesterday said that they would consider only a small number of current national team players when they select a second string Bangladesh side for the upcoming Afro-Asian A-team tournament to be held in Chittagong next month.
The A team is considered as a back-up force for the national squad, but the former national captain believed that it was not the case in Bangladesh where the concept of a shadow national team is completely missing.
The non-existence of a proper A team often forces the selectors to include most of the national players due to a big gap between senior and junior sides.
"We need two more years to bring a change in the present trend.
But for the upcoming tournament we will try to cut short the number of national players so that we can start the process of moulding a proper A team," said Faruque, adding that their priority would be to include as many as national discards in the team.
He however said that they would consider those players who have a potential to regain their national caps in the near future.
"This is an important tournament ahead of our home series against Sri Lanka in February-March and our focus would be on those discarded players who showed improvement in the recent domestic competitions as well as have an opportunity to return to the national team," he said. The selection committee led by Faruque will announce a 14-member Bangladesh A team in the first week of January.
"We have already identified some former national players who performed consistently in the domestic competitions so far but we
will also have to consider their fitness level before final the selection," he added without elaborating.
Faruque however was bitterly disappointed with the performance of the national players both in the National League and the on-going Premier League.
"Yes, most of the players got some runs but definitely they failed to fulfill our expectations, especially their approach in the longer-version matches of the National League was not at all satisfactory," he pointed out.
Meanwhile, the board has prepared both venues in the port city for the successful holding of the newly introduced Afro-Asian A-team tournament, which will feature second string sides from India, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and hosts Bangladesh. The number of
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participants might be increased if the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) allow a combined selection of Kenya and Uganda.
"We have already prepared the MA Aziz Stadium and the Chittagong Divisional Stadium for holding the tournament as instructed by the ACC CEO Syed Ashraful Haque," said BCB jointsecretary Rafiqul Islam Babu.
He said that so far four teams have confirmed their participation but there is a chance to increase the number.
"We will get the final picture within the next couple of days," he added.