Naved Newaz, the director of the Bangladesh Under-19 World Cup-winning squad, is ecstatic to see five of his players reach the Asia Cup roster.
Bangladeshi selectors initially included Tawhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Shoriful Islam, and uncapped Tanzid Hasan Tamim in their 17-man squad for the impending Asia Cup. These players won the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa in 2020.
Later, the number increased to five when pace bowling all-rounder Tanzim Hasan Sakib was selected to replace pace bowler Ebadot Hossain, who was ruled out of the tournament due to a knee injury.
Shoriful has already made a name for himself over the past few months, while Hridoy has swiftly established himself as the number four batsman in both white-ball formats thanks to his remarkable performances. Shamim, who was one of the early selections for the T20I squad from that World Cup-winning group, has recently returned to the national team after a few-year absence.
Without limit the selection of Tanzid as the successor for Tamim Iqbal, who missed the tournament due to a back injury, reflects his recent rise to prominence. If Tanzim’s potential as a pace bowling all-rounder comes to fruition, it will be a blessing for the team’s management, who is urgently seeking someone who can bowl quickly and bat well down the order.
Newaz, the associate coach of Sri Lanka, will be in the opposite pavilion when Bangladesh takes on the host nation in the tournament’s opening match on August 31 at Pallekele Stadium.
“I wish them all the best and hope that will not do too well against Sri Lanka when we play them on the 31st,” Newaz told CricAdvisor adding that clinching the trophy was a huge achievement but they still have long way to go.
“It is a massive achievement to clinch the Under-19 World Cup because it’s a start of a challenge laid ahead of them and it will all depend how they will cope to the challenges that international cricket throw at them and how they will sustain them and how they will keep getting better,” said Newaz.
“I am happy that I was part of it and as a coach and as a mentor happy to see progress of people you know it gives satisfaction for me and hopefully, they will do well in international cricket and cope with the pressure of international cricket and keep learning about how they should go ahead and work ethics about how positively they meet the team requirements,” he added.
“The most positive thing about our batch is that everyone is positive and they don’t get depressed after doing badly neither do they get over excited after achieving something. I think a lot of cricketer of our batch have this in their mental set-up that if you are doing badly you make sure not to get depressed too much because certainly when you are playing badly you will feel bad but we just try to make sure that we are not getting into depression while similarly if you are doing well there is no point to reach cloud nine,” said Akbar adding that the 24-month scholarship provided by the board after arriving from the World Cup helped them immensely as they could keep their focus into cricket in time of corona.
BCB announced following their arrival from South Africa that each player will receive BDT One Lakh for two years as reward for winning the trophy.
“That scholarship really helped at that point of time (when the world was attacked by corona) and when we returned home BCB only said that they will take all responsibility of ours and we should only focus on our game. They have given us this kind of message,” said Akbar.
“I think that (financial support for two years) was a huge support for us as there were lots of uncertainties due to corona but we did not have to go through any tension at that point of time because we had the financial security that ultimately we will receive certain amount at the end of the month through which we can do everything,” he said.
Apart from these five cricketers, three players from the same group – Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Mrittunjoy Chowdhury and Parvez Hossain Emon – have already debuted for the senior team in different formats with the former already featuring in nine Tests for his country. Shahadat Hossain was picked in the Test squad but could not make his debut but the way he is establishing him it won’t take long for him to get a place in longer version cricket. Left-arm spinner Rakibul Hasan also left his mark in the recently concluded Emerging Asia Cup.
Khaled Mahmud, BCB’s game development chairman who played a big role behind the U-19 World Cup success, hailed Newaz for his contribution while added that other cricketers from that batch is waiting to seize their chance in the senior level.
“Former coach Naveed Nawaz did an excellent job and we must give credit for what he did for that batch,” said Mahmud.
“I think they are the future of Bangladesh cricket. Those who aren’t still part of the squad are also good players. Like Dipu, Akbar and Emon, who are yet to be part of the team. But they will make their position in the national team within some time. The main thing is they are all proven and also are doing really well” he said adding that they are rewarded for emphasizing on development.
The way Under-19 cricketers are coming into the scene, one thing is certain – the boys are now turning into men.
