[jeesh]

Originally Posted by al Furqaan
Of course I'm working under the assumption that Bangladesh works hard to overtake the teams ranked immediately ahead of it. Its possible. It will probably take 100 years to reach #1 or even think of reaching #1, but we should aim to be middle of the pack by 2020 or 2025. Of course if we don't work hard (players and brass) then we'll not only fail to catch up to WI, NZ, PAK but we will fall behind ZIM, IRE, and AFG!

Talent is not without its own set of merits, Ajfar. Take India for example. You might say that the Indian media hypes its self up and that is a very valid point. However does the indian media dictate the commanding respect of Indian cricket in far away places like England and Australia? No. Sachin Tendulkar is, in my opinion the single most talented player to play this game. However he has also choked and contributed to Indian losses in big games probably 3x for every match-winning knock he's played (just estimating here). However he and India command respect because people recognize the explosive talent they possess, talent that may not even be realized 50% of the time, but it buys respect.

SL on the other hand commands much less respect than India and even Pakistan. Why? Because non-partisan fans will still be drawn to Indian batting talent and Pakistani bowling talent, to Aussie cricket, and the English style. That doesn't exist for SL.

It doesn't matter how much SA has choked in the WC...thats 5% of the time and matches, and the other 95% of the time they usually don't choke. Smith, Amla, Kallis, Steyn, Morkel, Philander, Devilliers form arguably the best team in world cricket across formats. Make up any hypothetical WC knock-out match between that team and SL, I gurantee 90% of people will favor SA to win regardless of conditions or venue.

Sri Lanka almost assuredly does NOT have the young talent we have in guys like Asif, Anamul, Mominul, Soumya, and Taskin. If they did, they wouldn't be owned by us at the U-19 level. However our boys don't develop, whereass SL youths do. So the same SL Lion cubs who got beat black and blue by our Tiger cubs at U19 level, come back in 5 years to dominate our boys. If we can fix our developmental problems...we can be a serious force.

How do you know they dont have talent? Do you follow cricket here? Also dont forget not all good players come from Under 19. Anamul and Mominul are probably the two serious talent coming from our system. All others-long way to go. You will find hundreds of Taskins in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka can unearth players from out of the blue, players much much better than ours. So lets not get carried away with our Under 19 success. THeres a lot of work to be done