Should we endorse, or rather justify, the miserable statements made by Tanzim Hasan Sakib on his Facebook profile more than a year ago? Of course not. But we must discuss a point everyone seems to have missed on their way to bashing a young lad on social media out of whatever woke personal frustration they have. Yes, like most other cases.
Let’s assume that he is not someone who has bowled beautifully and won a match for his nation a week ago. Would you have seen him or his social media activities any differently than you see the millions of Bangladeshi people who wage wars and crusades in the live comment section of cricket matches? You would not. These people in the comment sections can be segmented into all socio-economic classes of our society.
But do they have the guts to express or justify these comments on a more serious platform? The answer is no. Trust me when I say this, these comment wars are just a form of entertainment for these people, and most of them believe that their speeches on such platforms actually make a difference because they have little or no credibility anywhere else.
The way Bangladeshi men’s cricket is operated, Tanzim Hasan Sakib probably didn’t know he was going to be selected even a month ago. He was just another young lad in the alley who had seen casual misogyny all his life. Can you really expect gentlemanship from such young lads who belong to a culture where the values and manners that make a man are rarely taught? Also, the mental and behavioural conditioning required for the team to get rid of such random Bangladeshi misogynistic mentality includes most players, if not all. Facing the media and behaving appropriately in public is rarely inherent in people which explains how poorly he has handled the media and the questioning from the BCB.
If we take a closer look at the many cricket academies in Bangladesh we will be able to analyze exactly what goes on there -- apart from some of the elite academies in Dhaka most of these places are a shelter, a dream of having a career in cricket for middle and lower-middle-class boys. Sometimes their only opportunity to earn a living.
As a teenager, while my elder brother opted for lawn tennis, I asked my parents if I could join a cricket academy. I nagged quite a lot. However, my parents were adamant that they would not allow me to get into an academy. This was because they knew that the kind of environment they have in small-town cricket academies is not very pleasant. I did not understand back then. I do now.
The Rawalpindi express, Shoaib Akhter, has openly discussed in a recent interview about a side of the Pakistan team no one else talks about: “We did not become good leaders. Maybe because we were not properly educated and most of us did not have an elite background.” He believes this to be the reason behind the fixing incidents in the Pakistan team and the loss of bright players as a result. He seemed very regretful about the fact.
The same goes for Indian fast bowlers Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma, and Mohammed Siraj who have openly accepted that the harsh demographic conditions they belonged to have hampered their careers. They have also admitted that their way of thinking, eating, and talking up until their under-19 careers changed only after they entered the actual international stage. And after playing for quite some time in the international circuit, they understood the true meaning of the gentleman’s game.
Tanzim Hasan Sakib is no hero. Not yet. But a player of his age and caliber does not deserve the mindless and brutal bandwagon mob trial that is currently raging either.
Rafsan Ahmed is a freelance contributor.
