Akram Khan and Tamim Iqbal, the Chacha Bhatija (uncle and nephew) of Bangladesh cricket, are often the object of sarcasm. We often forget the two of them have played the two most important innings in our cricketing history.
In the 1997 ICC Trophy in Malaysia, we lost four wickets for 15 runs while chasing a score of about 140-odd in a crucial second-round encounter against the Netherlands. Chacha, with a nerveless hand of 60-odd, saw us through. Think. If we had lost that match, we would not have qualified for the 1999 ICC World Cup in England. No World Cup in 1999, no Test status in 2000. It has rightly been commented on Cricinfo that never has the development of cricket in any one country owed so much to one single innings of one batsman.
We now forget about that innings. I was in London at that time, and on that day, I happened to be taking a guided tour at Lord’s, along with a group of Australians. When they heard that I was from Bangladesh, they were curious to know whether the game was played in Bangladesh. When we broke for tea, the result appeared on Teletext on the television, and I was able to show them! I also gathered that the match was being relayed live on Radio Bangladesh. When the fifth wicket fell for Bangladesh, I could picture the old groundsman at the Bangabandhu National Stadium standing in prayer on his faded prayer mat, and his supplications to the Almighty did not abate until we won the match, upon which he broke down in tears.
When I think of cricket, and my country, and my love for both, that unseen groundsman still remains the most enduring image in the corner of my mind.
Fast forward 18 years. To me, the genesis of the “Rise of the Tigers” was our win in the World Cup, not against England, but Scotland. The opposition may have been modest, but chasing 319 was a stiff challenge. Imagine what would have happened if we had failed. We would have again been the object of derision of our cricketing big brothers. More importantly, the old self doubts would again have recurred. Who was it that saved the day? Why, of course, Bhatija, with his chanceless 95. The rest is unfolding history.
And so, when we pour mirth and ridicule on Chacha Bhatija in the future, we should be mindful of the debt of gratitude we owe them.