Workload management keeps U-19s out of NCL T20

A Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) official on Thursday confirmed that the board has decided not to include U-19 team players in the upcoming National Cricket League (NCL) T20 squads, citing workload management.

The BCB recently announced all eight squads for the second edition of the NCL T20, scheduled to begin on September 14, without naming any U-19 cricketers.

Several members of the current U-19 batch -- Zawad Abrar, Azizul Hakim Tamim, Iqbal Hossain Emon, and Samiun Basir Ratul -- featured in last year's inaugural edition of the NCL T20, with a few also appearing in the following Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

However, as the players face a packed international schedule in the coming months -- including a five-match Youth ODI series against Afghanistan in October, the U-19 Asia Cup in December (to be held either in Sri Lanka or the UAE), and the ICC U-19 World Cup early next year -- they will not be available for the NCL T20 or the BPL later this year.

The U-19 side is currently in the UK, where they are playing a five-match Youth ODI series against England, and are expected to return home on September 16.

"We felt their workload would increase, and that's why the coaching panel and fitness staff suggested not to consider them for the tournament," AEM Kawser, BCB's tournament committee manager, told The Daily Star.

"NCL teams were interested in five to six cricketers like Zawad, Tamim, Ratul, Emon, Al Fahad, and Rizan. But following the recommendation of the U-19 coaching staff, we decided not to allow them in the NCL T20. The U-19 players are also expected to feature in the U-19 Asia Cup during the BPL T20 window, so it is very unlikely they will take part in the BPL either," he added.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that the ICC U-19 World Cup -- scheduled to be held in Zimbabwe and Namibia -- will kick off on January 16 next year and run until February 8, with the warm-up matches of the 16-team competition set to begin on January 10.