BCB opens a fresh route to find Bangladesh's next pacers

The Bangladesh Cricket Board is going back to the grassroots in search of the bowlers who could shape the country's next pace attack.

The board will launch a nationwide talent-search programme on Tuesday, jointly organised with Robi Axiata, with the opening ceremony scheduled at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. BCB president Tamim Iqbal and Robi chief executive officer Ziad Shatara are expected to attend.

The initiative, titled 'Robi Bowler Hunt', is aimed at identifying promising young bowlers from across the country and giving them a pathway into structured development.

The move comes at a time when Bangladesh's fast-bowling stocks are stronger than they have been for years. Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Nahid Rana, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam and Tanzim Hasan Sakib have given the national team greater variety and depth in pace bowling.

Recent performances have further strengthened that confidence. Hasan Mahmud's nine-wicket match haul helped Bangladesh secure a landmark Test victory in Darwin, while Shoriful Islam later produced a seven-wicket haul in the second Test in Mackay. Bangladesh lost that match and drew the series, but the performances underlined the growing influence of pace in the team.

The BCB now wants to ensure that the improvement does not depend only on the current group.

The board previously worked with Robi on a nationwide fast-bowling search in 2016. That programme produced several promising pacers, while Rubel Hossain, who had emerged through an earlier nationwide scouting initiative, became an established international cricketer.

The latest project seeks to create another route for players outside the conventional cricket structure to come under the board's radar.

The organisers expect the programme to identify bowlers with the potential to develop into future national-team options.

For Bangladesh, the challenge is no longer simply finding a few fast bowlers. It is building enough depth to ensure that the current pace surge can continue into the next generation.