Apart from spices, curries, and biryani, cricket is what connects South Asia, thanks in part to the British bringing and popularizing it. There is always a clash among the fans and media of South Asian peers. Whenever these teams face each other, unrest follows among the fans, media, and cricketers.
The scenario was different in the 90s or early to mid-2000s. Things changed drastically after the exit of India in the 2007 World Cup at the hands of Bangladesh from the ICC World Cup. It became a healthier competition as the Tigers competed with the top Test-playing nations, finding some success in limited over matches in bilateral series mostly played at home.
The bellicosity of Bangladeshi fans and media is apparent when the Indian Premier League (IPL), the biggest and most expensive cricket league, comes around. The burning question is always there: why are Bangladeshi players not being picked by any IPL teams? I would rather follow this question with another one: Isn't it the responsibility of our players to create their value with their works, not with their words?
Nepal, the Netherlands (both ICC-associate nations), and Afghanistan (a newly appointed Test playing nation) have representation and, to some extent, more than Bangladesh in the IPL. Rashid Khan, a leggie from Afghanistan, was already sold with the highest bid (INR 15 crore) before the auction in 2022. He has always played all the matches for his franchise.
Shakib usually obtained a reasonable bid in past auctions, certainly on his performances. Although our fans, media, and ex-cricketers still argue for his playing time, he has to compete with Sunil Narine for his spot most of the time for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). There were many performances in the past where IPL franchises bought our players and let them play in the 11.
However, our players did not keep their faith. KKR bought Mashrafe with a bid of $600,000 from the base price of $50,000 in 2009. He got the chance to play the match, and the captain, then Brendon McCullum, called him to bowl the last over for defending 21 runs on the board against Deccan Chargers.
But 21-year-old Rohit Sharma dismantled the Bangladeshi speed star. After that, Mashrafe was not picked by any franchise. The same fate happened to Mohammad Ashraful after being purchased by the Mumbai Indians. I saw many matches in the IPL where our players ultimately disappointed.
T20 leagues are business-oriented. As a franchise owner, one has the right to make decisions based on their benefit. David Warner was dropped in the middle of IPL 2021 for not being consistent and also lost his captaincy. However, Warner made an incredible comeback in ICC World T20 last year. I will not be surprised if he gets one of the highest bids in the upcoming auction.
The same goes for Matthew Wade. One can compare this Aussie wicket-keeper batsman with Mushfiqur Rahim. Even as a wicket-keeper batsman, how reliable is Mushfiq as a wicket-keeper? He is a great batsman, but he often disappointed us in big matches with his keeping. The IPL usually looks for the complete package. Indeed, Aussie, Kiwi, or Proteas players are always in demand, not with their hype, but their performance. It is our players' responsibility to prove themselves with performances, not with emotional, immature, and unprofessional words in the media and poor performances on the field.
Bangladeshi players take chances for granted, whether they are in the national team or domestic tournaments. We often forget that we are no longer an emerging cricketing nation like Afghanistan or Ireland. It has already been 22 years Bangladesh is a Test-playing nation, but the growth and maturity as a whole remains unsatisfactory.
Our players continue to have an alarming problem with maturity and controlling their emotion. We don’t see passion, professionalism, and dedication most of the time despite playing the game for so long. Their actions and on-field performances, in reality, do not speak in their favour. I wonder why our players also do not avail the opportunity to play at the Australian Big Bash.
Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) has no consistency at all. It is visibly not a well-planned and organized tournament. It has massive financial blunders, corruption, mismanagement, and unprofessionalism. Yet, necessary action is hardly seen for any of those violations.
Nevertheless, it seems these are not popular topics for Bangladeshis. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) always claims that BPL is the second most popular and successful T20 league after the IPL, although the reality does not match their words. Hence, our players should focus on their performance on the field instead of their performance in the media.
MD Talebur Islam Rupom is currently a communications professional, researcher, and an International Fellow at Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia. Can be reached by taleburislamrupom@gmail.com.