Shakib, Mustafizur unwilling to play Test, says BCB chief

Senior Bangladesh cricketers, including skipper Shakib Al Hasan, are averse to playing Test cricket, Bangladesh Cricket Board President Nazmul Hassan has said.

Pacer Mustafizur Rahman is also reluctant to play the longest version of the game, Nazmul told the media on Friday, days after humiliating defeats in the Test series against the West Indies and seven months after Shakib’s return as captain.

“I’ve seen in the ICC that the boards, except England and Australia, do not have interest in Test. Besides them, broadcasters are also reluctant. They say Tests don’t draw visitors. It’s an issue,” the BCB chief said.      

“But now I see a number of senior cricketers like Shakib in our country don’t want to play Tests. Neither does Mustafizur,” he added. 

Speaking about the pacer, the BCB chief said Mustafizur does not want to play Test cricket “maybe for fear of injuries”.

“He doesn’t say that he doesn’t want to play, but wants to avoid it. Perhaps it’s because he’s more prone to injury than others are.

The BCB chief now wants to blood in young cricketers in the Test squad and have different teams with specialists for the three formats of the game.

“Many don’t want to play Test now. You know, Test is a bit difficult. Rubel is an experienced player. He has been giving us service for a long time. We must bring in young cricketers,” he said.

‘We will have to form a new team for Test, and for T20 if possible. Maybe there will be three to four common players. Every country does this now. All have T20 and Test specialists,” Nazmul said.   

The BCB chief believes conditions played the key role in the poor performance of the Tigers in the Test series.

The hosts won the first match by an innings and 219 runs and the second Test by 119 runs.

The board chief said they tried to make wickets like those on the West Indies before embarking on the tour, but to no avail.

“We are now discussing with our new curator whether we can bring soil from abroad.

“We need such pitches. There is no other way. Because we played mostly at home and in the sub-continent in past four years.

“Now we must go abroad. So we need such pitches for domestic cricket,” he added.