Photo: Firoz Ahmed
Bangladesh Cricket Board director and Chairman of High-Performance Committee Naimur Rahman Durjoy and newly-appointed head coach of HP David Hemp were in tune at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Wednesday as they both walked along the same lines saying that it is the players who must take initiative to go onto the next stage after training under the HP program.
A former Bermuda international, Hemp was appointed by the BCB to take charge of HP on a two-year contract and will have his first assignment in the program’s latest chapter that will see training start on June 24 across three phases in as many cities—Dhaka, Bogura, and Rajshahi.
HP, a specialised camp, is carried out to nurture young talents in a structured program after the under-19 stage but it has often accommodated relatively senior players in and around the national side.
Durjoy explained just that underlining that the HP Committee can only provide the tools and the facilities necessary to these rising talents and admitted that above all it is up to the players to take the next step by responding to the development program.
“Everything depends on the players. My job or the committee’s job is to give them the support, to give them the tools they need. We can see that there are seven to eight players in the national side to have come through HP. In reality, it is up to the players entirely. It will be good for Bangladesh cricket if the players can make their opportunities count to prepare well and get better. They are the ones who represent the national team,” he told the reporters after presenting David Hemp as head coach at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Wednesday.
Hemp walked along the same lines as he put the onus on the participants of the program to adapt and overcome their lackings. The 52-year-old also revealed that he would also have in mind the demands of the national team and would try to work in alignment with national team head coach Chandika Hathurusingha eyeing all the goals that Bangladesh has in terms of moving up the rankings and challenging for major trophies in marquee competitions.
“We can decide how we prepare players. We can doctor wickets to help prepare for conditions. We want to align with what Chandika (Hathurusingha) and the main side wants, in terms of what players they are looking for, what that skillset deficit is. Players have to be good enough to adapt and grow. That’s why they are here. We encourage them to be the best they can be. We can produce players in Bangladesh who play in all conditions in all the countries around the world.
“I spoke to Chandika (Hathurusinghe) a couple of months ago. I haven’t spoken to Jamie but I will speak to him soon. It is not about any of the coaches. It is about the players and Bangladesh cricket, and how we make sure it contends for major trophies, goes higher up the ranking in all three formats, and how many players we can get in the top ten in the ICC rankings. It is the all-around package from everybody to make sure alignment is right.
“Sometimes that happens. In terms of any professional side, assigned on a tour contract, if they don’t progress, they drop off. Through time, the selectors will figure out what players are putting in performances that merit, moving up the chain/ladder. Sometimes it takes players three or four years to fill that potential. We have to make sure everything we can, within this program, to help the players move on. That’s the most important thing. You can’t really control whether or not they do. It is up to how they respond, but also they have put in those performances that merit selection,” he told the reporters.
