It is not new that cricket has brought glory to our nation, and has united the people of Bangladesh when the country had been passing through bad days of political unrest, and the uncompromising attitude of our political parties.
The news of an extraordinary feat committed by Shakib Al Hasan comes at a time when the country is clearly divided by two political alliances – one that wants to cling to power forever, and another that wants to overthrow the former through means foul or fair.
The confrontational stands of the two have made our nights sparkle with frequent cocktail blasts and vehicle being set blaze, and our have turned our days nightmarish. When the most optimistic talk-show people are now hopeless about clearing political clouds in the horizon of the nation, the news about Shakib has brought a glimmer of hope to the bleak-seeming future of the nation.
The record our talented left-handed all-rounder has made is something that has never been done in the history of cricket. In the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings, the youngest Bangladesh skipper in the country’s history has become the first ever player to secure the position of No 1 all-rounder in all three formats of the game.
According to the ICC ratings, Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara is ranked the best Test batsman in the world right now, South African AB de Villiers is the best one-day batsman, and Indian firebrand Virat Kohli is the best in Twenty20.
Among the bowlers, South African paceman Dale Steyn is ranked the top in Test, West Indies’ Sunil Narine is considered the top in the ODIs, and his countryman Samuel Badree the best in Twenty20.
But the only man to lead all three formats in his field is Shakib Al Hasan, with a batting average of 38.31 and a bowling average of 31.45 in Test matches, a 34.58 batting average and a 27.92 bowling average in ODIs, and a 22.78 and an 18.90 batting and bowling average, respectively, in T20 matches. We all are proud of our cricket maestro!
Undoubtedly, Shakib will be the Tiger’s biggest weapon against its opposition in the upcoming ODI World Cup scheduled to be held in Australia in February.
The Tigers’ vice captain in the World Cup is already in Australia, where he has been enthralling the spectators with his performance in the KFC T20 Big Bash League season. In his last match in the league, the 27-year-old took 4-13 in the Renegades’ five-wicket win against the Brisbane Heat. In his three matches so far this season, he has taken seven wickets at just 9.85, with an impressive economy rate of 5.75.
The National Cricket Board of Bangladesh was much criticised for banning this play-maker from playing in the national team for six-months, with the allegation of having a “severe attitude problem.”
What can be a more appropriate reply from Shakib to this imprudent decision by the board, than the achievement of this great feat that brought us some good news at a time when we are exhausted with news of problems and ugly politics? Heroes live forever, because they believe in work, not words.
