EKUSH TAPADER

For any structure – a physical one like a skyscraper or an abstract one like Bangladesh cricket – the most important part is its foundation as once the foundation crumbles the structure is bound to come crashing down.

In most Test-playing nations in the world, four-day cricket is considered the foundation, but Bangladesh’s case is different as the cricketing culture here has historically revolved around the 50-over format.

And as the only recognised List-A competition of the country, the Dhaka Premier League (DPL) is the most important pillar in the foundation of Bangladesh cricket.

But over the years, the grandeur of the league has diminished in spades for a multitude of reasons. The enthusiasm that surrounded DPL in the 80s and 90s has degraded to such an extent that less than a day before the newest edition of this top-tier competition begins, the main topic of discussion is whether the players will even receive their wages which has already been slashed down significantly.

A dilapidated palace

The current state of the DPL can be compared to an abandoned palace, which has a glorious past and once possessed great splendour but now only the hollow structure remains.

Competition from international cricket and the emergence of T20s have certainly played a role in DPL’s decline in popularity, but the club-runners’ focusing more on the inner workings of the cricket board and how to best leverage their councillorship has arguably played an even bigger role in this deterioration.

Due to the complexities of club politics, the balance among teams is disrupted, and the competition is usually limited to a few sides. The lack of competition has gradually increased to such an extent that even the cricketers themselves have lost interest in the outcome of the matches.

Aminul Islam Bulbul, Bangladesh’s first Test centurion, played in the DPL during its heydays in the 90s, when the galleries used to be packed for Abahani, Mohammedan, or Biman matches and the fans’ enthusiasm was immense.

According to Aminul, Bangladesh cricket has come this far by capitalising the fanfare of DPL in those days and the competitive nature of the league helped them develop into a competitive ODI team in quick time.

And now, as the DPL is arguably nearing an all-time low, the national team is also struggling to perform in what used to be its most preferred format.

The Bangladesh team returned to Dhaka after a winless ICC Champions Trophy campaign on Friday. They had also underperformed in the ICC ODI World Cup in 2023 and have lost series against New Zealand, Afghanistan and West Indies in between.

Whether this correlation between the decline in DPL and Bangladesh’s ODI returns signify a direct causation is difficult to ascertain. But to Aminul, that seems to be the case exactly.

“The face of a country’s domestic cricket is essentially the face of its international cricket. If you look at our three events, first-class, BPL, and DPL, first-class cricket is not very competitive. The BPL is our T20 preparation. And the 50-over Dhaka Premier League is our only List-A cricket. We have three national teams from these three tournaments. If there is no competition in these, if we can’t create a buzz, then we can’t create players.

“The more competitive a country’s domestic cricket is, the more competitive they become in international cricket. If there’s no competitive edge in domestic cricket, how can you expect it in the national team?”

A league in shambles

The livelihoods of most of the country’s professional cricketers depend on DPL and this fundamental aspect has also suffered a major blow ahead of the upcoming season.

Salaries across all clubs have been nearly halved and some cricketers are being forced to play in the league for as little as Tk 50,000.

Former national team captain Mohammad Ashraful, head coach of Dhanmondi Sports Club (formerly Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club), explained the reality to The Daily Star, “Players who used to get Tk 30,00,000 are now playing for Tk 5,00,000-7,00,000. Teams that spent Tk 5,00,00,000 to build their squads last year are now doing it with Tk 2,00,00,000. If they spend Tk 3,00,00,000 less, salaries will naturally decrease.”

This List-A tournament is held every year during the summer, hence, there’s a rush to finish it before the monsoon season starts, leading to a packed schedule. Additionally, players face travel hassles due to matches being played at venues outside Dhaka.

According to Ashraful, the league right now is being held just for the sake of it.

“You play one day, rest one day, and then play again the next day. This way, there will be no improvement. We just do everything for the sake of doing it.

“To develop, we need to plan better. Besides, the players have to travel to very distant venues. They leave BKSP after praying Fajr [Morning prayer]. Now, it’s Ramadan, so they’ll have to leave almost right after Sehri. They’ll play without sleep. After the game, they’ll travel for another five hours. Everyone will just play for the sake of playing.”

The way out?

Aminul, who works as an ICC game development officer, fears that Bangladesh cricket will regress if the Bangladesh Cricket Board doesn’t pay attention to these issues now.

“I don’t think it should be left to the clubs alone. Everyone needs to focus on fixing this together. Those who are running Bangladesh cricket now should focus on this. Otherwise, we will go backwards.

“In the Champions Trophy, we saw how many dot balls we played. We don’t have genuine spinners in the team. These things will improve if we play many 50-over matches. There should be intense competition among four or five teams.”

Aminul used Afghanistan as an example, a country that joined the big leagues decades after Bangladesh but are already performing more consistently in ICC events, having recently defeated England in the Champions Trophy.

“In Afghanistan, there are many 50-over tournaments in domestic cricket. They have taken initiatives to reduce their dot ball problem by bringing forward those whose strike rate is above 80. In 50-over matches, they give incentives to those whose strike rate is above 100.” Accepting that Afghanistan may already have a better domestic structure than Bangladesh, may be a hard pill to swallow for this country’s cricket administration. But facts don’t care about anyone’s feelings and from the looks of it, Bangladesh cricket is in a race against time to salvage its decaying foundation.