My nephew is a die-hard cricket fan. So is my childhood buddy Ashraf. These guys are interested only in cricket, and would do anything for their love of cricket. I have always been a “passer-by” when it comes to cricket.
But the sudden rise of Bangladesh in cricket has now arrested my attention as well. I feel like I’m nowhere if I am not kept updated on what is happening in the cricket world, especially the Bangladeshi team. My Australian friend, who has no interest in Bangladesh, has now decided to visit Bangladesh to watch our team after the Tigers defeated England in the last World Cup.
Many of my friends overseas know Bangladesh through the success of our cricket team, and for some, it is the land of Shakib Al Hasan. After Indian Prime Minister Modi’s visit, many of my friends in India asked me: “Who is this Al Hasan?”
Who is to be credited for the present state of cricket in Bangladesh? Is it Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who takes a keen interest in cricket and watches and encourages the Tigers whenever possible?
Is it our BCB president Nazmul Hasan Papon, who ushered in so much success for Bangladeshi cricket? Is it Saber Hossain Chowdhury, who brought us test playing status despite criticism about its prematurity?
Is it AHM Mustafa Kamal, our planning minister and former BCB chief, who has a portion of his heart dedicated to cricket? Is it KZ Islam whose Nirman School Cricket undeniably paved the way for Bangladesh’s cricketing success? Or is it the founder of BKSP, who paved the way for today’s cricketing heroes, such as Shakib and Mushfique?
Marketing guru Philip Kotler advised us to brand Bangladesh around RMG. I guess the days are coming when another guru will tell us that Bangladesh’s cricket is the best brand for the nation. Shakib, Tamim, Mushfique, Rubel, Taskin, Soumya Sarkar, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mominul Haque, Mustafiz, Imrul Kayes, Anamul Haque, Al Amin Hossain, Mahmudullah Riyad, Abdur Razzak, Shahriar Nafees, Alok Kapali, Aftab Ahmed, Shafiul Islam, Liton Das, and many of their friends are becoming household names in Bangladesh.
While Shakib was suspended, I rushed to my friend Papon and asked him what happened. He replied: “Let him play well, we will do whatever possible. Apa (our PM) was equally concerned with this news, but I think I can convince her.”
During the Happy-Rubel incident, upon inquiring a senior police officer about it, he smiled and replied: “We needed to protect Rubel, our pride.”
Bangladesh recently played terrifically against the visiting Pakistan, India, and South Africa teams. NDTV is full of praise for our 19-year-old wonder-bowler from Satkhira, Mustafiz. Many commentators are gung ho about batsmen Soumya, Mahmudullah, and bowlers Rubel and Taskin.
Some of them tipped their hats to our cricket academy and BKSP. Many of them felt that, even after the departure of Shakib, Tamim, and Mushfique, the team should be able to hold on, if not move forward. Some of them even gave credit to our former coach Dav Whatmore, and of course, present coach Chandika Hathurusingha.
My cricket-loving friends strongly feel that nothing can hold back Bangladeshi cricket now. They give a lot of credit to Nirman School cricket, Under 19 cricket, district sports councils, and our cricket academy. They feel that more academies should be put up, and had a lot of kind words for the building up of high performance programs under the leadership of Mahbub Anam, another BCB stalwart. They also expressed that young bowlers and batsmen, like Mustafiz and Soumya, should be sent to the Australian Cricket Academy in order to learn the latest techniques.
What has helped the Bangladesh team to come to this stage? Apart from the above, analysts give credit to team management, diligent coaches, fielding coaches, and even the BCB physiotherapists. Why physiotherapists? Bangladesh players come from diverse and relatively impoverished backgrounds -- they are not physically fit to play long games, and are also very prone to getting injured.
Where is the confidence coming from? From our world-class batsmen like Tamim, Shakib, Mushfique, and Soumya; amazing bowlers such as Rubel, Taskin, Mustafiz, Mashrafe; and quick wicket-keepers like Mushfique, Anamul Bijoy, and Liton Das. Of course, newer stars are slowly emerging from the Under 19 league.
My friends are a little disturbed by the comments of former England cricketer Geoffrey Boycott and former Pakistan cricketer Rameez Raja. While I don’t pay much attention to Rameez Raja, I think there are merits in Geoff Boycott’s comment: “Bangladesh needs to beat big teams abroad.”
Of course, Bangladesh needs to replicate its home-ground success in foreign lands. We have started doing so by beating giants such as Australia and England in the past -- we should continue to do so in the future.
For that, they need to remain fit, take practice seriously, and follow a disciplined lifestyle. The BCB leadership should also try to keep team members away from any politics. We should encourage the establishment of more cricket academies or BKSP-like bodies, either under public or private ownership, or as joint ventures with renowned international cricketing institutes. Cricket should be taken seriously by Bangladesh, and I can tell you that the return on the investment will be very high.
