Bangladesh Cricket Board’s $1million worth High-Performance Programme started on Sunday at Mirpur with an aim to have 25 prospective cricketers the best prepared for international cricket in near future. BCB vice president and chairman of the HP programme Mahbubul Anam inaugurated the camp and promised to do whatever it takes to prepare the players to play for the national team.
‘The target of this programme is to produce players for the national side, said Anam said after the inauguration of programme.
‘We will add whatever is required to run the programme. We are thinking to bring some foreign experts for it.’
During the initial day of the programme players basically worked with their fitness and they also made a beep test, a multi-stage fitness test that have different tasks sometimes used by the coaches trainers to estimate a player’s maximum oxygen uptake.
The current programme will run for total nine weeks with it Australian strength and conditioning coach Corey Bocking saying that they intense work with both fitness and skill of the players.
‘Primarily we thought some of them [players] are in good state,’ said Bocking. ‘We have to work a lot for the fitness of some. We will arrange discrete personal programme for their development.
One of the participants, Bangladesh Air Force solider Ibadat Hossain was ecstatic to get the opportunity.
The 25-year old Ibadat, who came to the limelight after hitting a maximum 139kmph during recent pace bowling hunt camp, thought this programme will help him uplift the level of his skill.
‘I am feeling great. I will take this opportunity,’ said the Ibadat, who played City Club in First Division League last season.
‘I want to learn some good things from here so that I can utilise them in future. My next target is BPL, BCL, and NCL. I f I get chance and can do well it will be good for me,’ added the paceman.
Another participant Mehedi Hasan Mehedi echoed Ibadat.
‘Playing for national team is every cricketers dream. But one must improve step by step,’ he said. ‘No one can get a chance in the national team if he does not improve step by step. My goal will be to improve as much as possible.’
Although the camp has started but the HP cricketers will not get their Coach Simon Helmut.
BCB expected that Helmut, who is currently working as the coach of Trinbgo Knight Riders in Caribbean Premier League, will join them early in the next month.
-With New Age input
