Ashraful says BCL aimed at Pakistan prep, hails Mustafiz and Taskin's growth

Bangladesh batting coach Mohammad Ashraful on Sunday defended the understated promotion of the Bangladesh Cricket League One-Day Version, stating that the tournament's primary aim is to help the players prepare for the upcoming series against Pakistan. He also praised Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed.

With several national stars and Under-19 graduates featuring, questions have been raised over the lack of branding and sponsorship visibility.

The former national skipper, however, pointed to time constraints.

“It’s a very short window,” he said. “At this time, the cricket board has focused on what could be the best preparation for the Pakistan series.”

He also urged the media to step up promotional efforts.

“You will do the promotion. If you do it, it will be publicised,” the 41-year old coach added.

The former right-handed batter also threw his weight behind Mustafiz, backing the left-arm quick to spearhead Bangladesh’s pace battery.

“Definitely. Mustafiz has been playing for Bangladesh since 2016 and has been a top bowler from the beginning,” Ashraful said.

He recalled the pacer’s sensational debut against India, when he rattled the cricketing world with a five-wicket haul.

“Now it’s been almost 10 years. It’s natural for Taskin and Mustafiz to lead our pace unit,” he noted.

Ashraful highlighted Bangladesh’s growing fast-bowling depth, revealing that eight to 10 pacers can now consistently clock 140kph.

“That’s a big positive for us,” he said.

Looking ahead to a packed calendar this year as well as the 2027 Cricket World Cup, Ashraful stressed the need for squad rotation.

“We have around 18 One Day Internationals and Tests before the World Cup. To manage that workload across Tests, ODIs and T20s, we need a big pool — 40 to 50 players — so they can be rotated properly.”