One could hardly find the stands at the cricket venues empty during a Bangladesh game looking into the last three years or more – let the match have a meaning or be a dead rubber. In order to get hands on a ticket, one had to probably use any or every channel and sometimes cue overnight in front of a ticket counter which mostly are commercial banks. But the game against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka yesterday at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium (SBNS) saw a different scenario. The crowd at the stands did increase as the game progressed but never to fill the full of the bowl.
And the reason that came up often for the empty stands – Bangladesh cricket’s low in the last 37 days.
The Tigers went into the month long series against Sri Lanka backed with the wins and expectations gained from the home series against New Zealand in October/November last year. But the home crowd was left disappointed with defeats in all the games against the Lankans despite a few close games in the shorter formats.
The defeats for Bangladesh continued in the Asia Cup too but it was the loss against Afghanistan that hampered the home side’s reputation the most. The game was the fourth ODI for Afghanistan, an associate member of the ICC. The home crowd expected an easy cruise for Bangladesh at Fatullah’s Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium but to leave all jaws open, the high-flying Tigers were slammed down to earth as they lost the game by four wickets. Hosts Bangladesh, runners-up at the last edition of the Asia Cup, could have bounced back in the next game – against Pakistan. They got the start by posting a massive target on the board which had pulled thousands into the SBNS by the start of Pakistan’s chase. But to the disappointment of all, Bangladesh lost this game too after some Shahid Afridi action and few strategies that went wrong for Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim.
The series of defeats were not taken sportingly by the fans and this showed in the poor turnout for the Sri Lanka game. Students, who are the heart of the stands and go crazy for a ticket for admission in the stadium, were found selling their tickets outside the stadium yesterday.
Interestingly there was also a mother who resides adjacent to the SBNS at Mirpur found selling a ticket. When quarried, it was learnt that the ticket was for her son, whom she had forced to go to the school in the morning and the reason – “Bangladesh is losing, it’s better for him (son) to go to the school study.”
Negativity was also seen among those who were at the stands for the game. A fall of Bangladesh wickets often meant a reason for disappointment for those at the stands. But on the day, the majority were found dancing to the beats of the songs being played by the in-stadia DJ and celebrate the dismissal with an impression that the fall of wicket was Bangladesh’s fate and that it had to happen.
Bangladesh is a cricket crazy country and it often amazes those who don’t belong to the land when the crowd cheers loud and claps when Bangladesh scores even a single run. At the moment, the team has anything and possibly everything against them and it is only a win that can and to some extent, will erase all the negatives for the fans.