|| CF Correspondent ||

Former Bangladesh skipper Aminul Islam said that their Test ranking indicates their growth in Test cricket during last 20 years.

On 26 th June 2000, Bangladesh became the 10th Test-playing nation after an International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting at Lords.

It remains a huge achievement for the country's cricket but 20 years have passed since then and the question of how far our cricket has come keep resurfacing due to our performances in the longest and hardest format of the game.

Former captain Aminul Islam, who had struck an wonderful against India in Bangladesh's debut Test, lamented that the country have not been able to fulfill the dream.

"The dream with which we had begun our journey in year 2000, today 20 years later, our rankings will tell you what have done and how far we've come. The story of whether we could do justice to our strength and potential will be told by our Test ranking. We have been titillating between nine and 10 and have never managed to go upto five or six. It's area of improvement for us and it's telling us what we need to do," Aminul was quoted in Daily Star recently.

The pandemic has already seen the postponement of five series that Bangladesh were supposed to play in. The cricketers have not been able to start training outside and there the mental toll can be great for athletes stuck at home. The cricket organisers too need to be aware of the status of the country's cricket and ensure that we do not fall behind international standards. Aminul reminded that the cricketing focus must remain even during the pandemic.

"We're passing through a difficult time due to coronavirus. The biggest thing right now is to have patience. We should take care so that we do not lose our cricket focus in this period," he concluded.

While the world has moved onto T20 cricket due to its shorter nature, Test cricket remains the ultimate test of mental strength for both cricketers and cricket lovers. Over the years however, Bangladesh have had a few successful but largely inconsistent foray in the toughest format of the game.