Eshen
January 25, 2008, 02:22 PM
http://newagebd.com/spt.html
by Raihan Mahmood
Even great players will tell you that they had to start from the bottom and work their way up. And thanks to the rise of cricket academies spread across Dhaka, the road to success has made that particular journey a lot less strenuous. Nowadays there are countless such academies from which to choose and enroll. Each school offers budding players a chance to hone their skills in all three departments so that one day they can become the next superstar of Bangladesh cricket.
The Dhanmondi Cricket Academy is regarded as one of the oldest academies in the capital. Founded nine years ago the DCA is guided by Rafiqul Alam, who is the current chief selector of Bangladesh Cricket Board. What makes it special is the light facilities to play at night.
Located at Road No 4 in Dhanmondi, the popular academy now boasts 150 students in age groups ranging from under-12 to under-21 level. Besides training, the academy has clinched the third division cricket league title and was promoted to the second division last year.
Under the watchful eyes of Rafiqul Alam the academy has been providing good cricketers in all levels of the game. ‘We employ modern coaching techniques and try to show the beauty of the game at the earliest stage. The youngsters readily accept that there is no gain without hard work and discipline,’ said Alam, an aggressive batsman in his playing days.
The coaching programme is not expensive in DCA as one might imagine. Admission costs Tk 1,500 and thereafter Tk 500 is charged per month.
Ratnak Shaha, the son of former Abahani footballer Hare Krishna, is a bright prospect of the academy. The wicketkeeper and left-handed batsman hopes to play in the top level some day.
His mother Shita Roy who accompanies her son to practice is equally confident about Ratnak’s future. ‘I believe support of the family has helped Ratnak come thus far and fingers crossed he will eventually play for the national team,’ she hoped.
Renowned coach Wahidul Gani who was the man responsible for discovering Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful, pacer Mohammad Sharif, left-handed opener Shahriar Nafees, wicketkeeper Anwar Hossain and a number of quality cricketers now imparts training to about 30 kids at the Dhanmondi Indoors facility.
‘I am a strong believer that the basics of the game must be drilled into a player at an early age. Cricket is all about discipline and teamwork,’ said Gani.
SB Chowdhury Shishir has been coaching youngsters for a long time. He runs his coaching school at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium that has around hundred boys are under him.
‘You see there are plenty of cricketers hanging around so the competitions never lack players. Academies like us are grooming cricketers of the future with appropriate basics. But we get little or no financial assistance from the board or government level even. Just look at the condition of the Dhanmondi indoors which is literally operating in the dark for the last couple of years due to bureaucratic red tape. It is high time the BCB inject cash into the academies in order to turn them into ‘centres of excellence,’ opined Shishir whose academy is named the Dhaka Cricket Coaching.
The concerns expressed by Shishir are nothing new but have been overlooked by the people that matter. If they are to survive then every effort must be made to help and up and coming academies like Discovery and more established ones like Cricket Coaching School of Kalabagan continue sowing the seeds for tomorrow’s cricketers.
by Raihan Mahmood
Even great players will tell you that they had to start from the bottom and work their way up. And thanks to the rise of cricket academies spread across Dhaka, the road to success has made that particular journey a lot less strenuous. Nowadays there are countless such academies from which to choose and enroll. Each school offers budding players a chance to hone their skills in all three departments so that one day they can become the next superstar of Bangladesh cricket.
The Dhanmondi Cricket Academy is regarded as one of the oldest academies in the capital. Founded nine years ago the DCA is guided by Rafiqul Alam, who is the current chief selector of Bangladesh Cricket Board. What makes it special is the light facilities to play at night.
Located at Road No 4 in Dhanmondi, the popular academy now boasts 150 students in age groups ranging from under-12 to under-21 level. Besides training, the academy has clinched the third division cricket league title and was promoted to the second division last year.
Under the watchful eyes of Rafiqul Alam the academy has been providing good cricketers in all levels of the game. ‘We employ modern coaching techniques and try to show the beauty of the game at the earliest stage. The youngsters readily accept that there is no gain without hard work and discipline,’ said Alam, an aggressive batsman in his playing days.
The coaching programme is not expensive in DCA as one might imagine. Admission costs Tk 1,500 and thereafter Tk 500 is charged per month.
Ratnak Shaha, the son of former Abahani footballer Hare Krishna, is a bright prospect of the academy. The wicketkeeper and left-handed batsman hopes to play in the top level some day.
His mother Shita Roy who accompanies her son to practice is equally confident about Ratnak’s future. ‘I believe support of the family has helped Ratnak come thus far and fingers crossed he will eventually play for the national team,’ she hoped.
Renowned coach Wahidul Gani who was the man responsible for discovering Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful, pacer Mohammad Sharif, left-handed opener Shahriar Nafees, wicketkeeper Anwar Hossain and a number of quality cricketers now imparts training to about 30 kids at the Dhanmondi Indoors facility.
‘I am a strong believer that the basics of the game must be drilled into a player at an early age. Cricket is all about discipline and teamwork,’ said Gani.
SB Chowdhury Shishir has been coaching youngsters for a long time. He runs his coaching school at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium that has around hundred boys are under him.
‘You see there are plenty of cricketers hanging around so the competitions never lack players. Academies like us are grooming cricketers of the future with appropriate basics. But we get little or no financial assistance from the board or government level even. Just look at the condition of the Dhanmondi indoors which is literally operating in the dark for the last couple of years due to bureaucratic red tape. It is high time the BCB inject cash into the academies in order to turn them into ‘centres of excellence,’ opined Shishir whose academy is named the Dhaka Cricket Coaching.
The concerns expressed by Shishir are nothing new but have been overlooked by the people that matter. If they are to survive then every effort must be made to help and up and coming academies like Discovery and more established ones like Cricket Coaching School of Kalabagan continue sowing the seeds for tomorrow’s cricketers.