Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal has come forward to help 91 struggling sportspersons, both former and current, amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Bangladesh has been in unofficial lockdown since March 26 with rising cases of Covid-19 pandemic.
The lockdown has put many day-to-day earners in trouble, including sportspersons.
Tamim has been working tirelessly to help the needy during this time of crisis and reaching out to the 91 athletes is his latest act of generosity.
After coming to the decision, Tamim involved his friends in the sporting arena to collect names and numbers of athletes who are struggling.
@BCBtigers ODI captain @TamimOfficial28 has been one of the leading forces among the cricketers to take stance and help the less privileged who have been harmed during the countrywide lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic.https://t.co/3WnAJqVCj5#TAMIM #IQBAL #TAMIMIQBAL #BCB
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) April 22, 2020
Not only cricket but the list also involves athletes from hockey, swimming, cycling, football, wushu, kabaddi, gymnastics and others.
Tamim’s friend from age-level cricket and now a coach, Mohammad Humayun Kabir has been one of the coordinators of the initiative.
According to Humayun, they have completed providing financial assistance to the sportspersons and expressed satisfaction through the reaction they received.
“We tried to help athletes of different disciplines, cricket, hockey, swimming, football to name but a few. There are some athletes who cannot ask for assistance considering their social status but at the same time, living in despair. Tamim bhai tried to find out those families and provided them financial assistance. The money was sent through mobile financial service and it took us almost five days to complete the list,” Humayun explained.
South Asian Games gold-medalist swimmer Mahfuza Khatun was also involved in the activities, collecting names for Tamim.
@BCBtigers ODI captain @TamimOfficial28 has joined forces with a charitable organization to raise funds and assist the underprivileged people of Bangladesh.https://t.co/mtH0PUAfcF#BCBTIGERS #BCB #TIGERS #BANGLADESH #CRICKET #BANGLADESHCRICKET #TAMIMIQBAL #TAMIM #IQBAL #COVID
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) April 11, 2020
“Tamim bhai wanted to keep this hidden but I believe sometimes such things should come to light. I never spoke to Tamim bhai [while working on this]. One of my friends from cricket informed me about it and that Tamim bhai wants to help players from other sports too,” said Mahfuza.
Mahfuza is a member of Bangladesh Athletes Commission and thus collecting numbers of those in need was never a challenge for her.
“I have been part of sports since 2003 but never saw someone from a bigger discipline come and help athletes from so many other disciplines,” Mahfuza added.
There have been ample cases where athletes, upon receiving “gifts” from Tamim, got extremely emotional.
Like his many other efforts, Tamim wanted to keep this initiative in silence too.
National left-arm spinner Nazmul Hossain Apu is the latest among the cricketers to have come forward in aid of the underprivileged in the society with the country in lockdown for coronavirus.https://t.co/bpZiRm52lk#NAZMUL #HOSSAIN #APU #NAZMULHOSSAINAPU #NAZMULAPU #BCBTIGERS
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) April 15, 2020
He is against making a comment on this, and also refrains from revealing names of those who have received the aid.
But as it happened, many have come forward and proudly announced of receiving help.
“I don’t have father and my two brothers are very young. I used to earn for my family through sports, which is now off because of the lockdown. We were struggling and Tamim bhai’s aid has helped us a lot,” said swimmer Ani Khatun.
“Someone called me on behalf of Tamim bhai. I was told Tamim bhai has a gift for me. I was not being able to believe it. A big thanks to him,” said Bangladesh Games gold-medalist in wushu, Razia Sultana.
“So dire was my financial state that I was not being able to buy food for Sehri and Iftar for my family. I will never forget what Tamim bhai has done for me. We were requested not to mention his help to us in public but I will say why not! No one in hockey has come forward to help me but Tamim bhai and people should know about it,” said one hockey player requesting anonymity.
@TamimOfficial28 continued to stretch his helping hand towards the victims of Covid19 outbreak in the country as the @BCBtigers ODI captain decided to sponsor Samiul Islam, the fastest teenage athlete whose family has been struggling to make ends meethttps://t.co/Om2pEVU7Nw#BCB
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) April 15, 2020
Tamim was one of the chief initiators behind the donation of half month’s salary for the corona victims by the national cricketers.
The left-handed batsman had also come forward and helped young sprinter Samiul Islam as he was struggling to make ends meet for his family.
Tamim had learnt of Samiul through a media report and had provided assistance so that Samiul’s family could survive for three months.
Tamim then made contribution to Dhaka’s Mohammadpur resident Nafisa Anjum Khan, who is known to be among many to come forward and help the struggling people in the society.
Bangladesh until Tuesday afternoon reported 6,462 Covid-19 cases in the country and 155 fatalities.
