Dhaka: An initiative has been taken to find out cricketers from the grassroots level and thereby bolster the country’s cricketing pipeline through the Zia Cricket Tournament, which is set to start from November 10. The tournament will see two teams from each of the 10 divisions compete against each other to qualify for the next round. Subsequently, two teams from Dhaka-Dhaka North and Dhaka South-will join the 10 divisional teams to play the final round, which will be held from January 16 to 19. The final will be held on January 19, coinciding with the birth anniversary of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman, the announcer of the country’s independence.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the cricket scene in independent Bangladesh began to take shape during the era of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman. Former national football team captain Aminul Haque, who is the advisor of the tournament, mentioned at a press conference in a local hotel that an MCC cricket team visited Bangladesh on January 7, 1977, to play
a three-day match against Bangladesh, marking the beginning of Bangladesh’s journey to international cricket. He also noted that the final match will be held at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Tournament member secretary Debbrata Paul stated that cricketers not available for their divisional team’s fixture in the ongoing National Cricket League (NCL) will participate in the tournament. “Normally a divisional team is formed with 35 cricketers, and only 15 cricketers were available to play the match. The rest of the 20 cricketers train with the team. So we have talked to the coaches and divisional authorities to make them available for us to play the tournament. If the divisional team or national cricket team call them up, we’ll release them immediately,” Paul informed.
The organizers have invited current and former national cricketers to inaugurate the tournament in Bogra on November 10. National opener Tamim Iqbal and former cricketer Mohammad Ashraful, who is also part of the tournament committee,
are expected to inaugurate the tournament. Haque emphasized the importance of keeping sports separate from politics, criticizing the past Awami League government for politicizing the sports fraternity and causing a decline in the country’s sports. He added that the cricketers would be given the facilities that a first-class cricketer usually receives.