Did we want a cricket that shatters our dreams?

My love for cricket goes a long way back. I fell in love with cricket during my school days. At that time we had a three band Murphy radio in our house. My father used to listen to the BBC news in English and encouraged us to listen as well.

My uncles, who once lived in our house for their study purposes, used to enjoy Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi’s songs on Radio Ceylon on the radio programme, ‘Bibidha Bharati’. My interest was in Omar Quraishi and Jamshed Marker’s English commentary.

During the exams, I listened to the commentary at low volume so that my father couldn’t hear. My childhood heroes were stars like Mohammad Hanif, Fazal Mahmood, Gary Sobers, Viv Richards. Due to discrimination, even the best players of East Pakistan couldn't find a place in the national team.

Like all the teenagers, I too had a dream of becoming a cricketer, which remained unfulfilled. While I was in Chattogram College, our teacher Nomani sir had tried to find a power hitter in me, seeing my physique. He taught me how to grip a bat and play shots. However, I would get clean bowled or get out by easy catches to the fielders most of the time.

And I have been following Bangladesh cricket since then till now. Bangladesh cricket has progressed a lot. They are now playing in every format at an international level. The 'Tigers' have become a symbol of the nation's hopes and aspirations after defeating cricketing powers such as England, Australia and India. Admittedly, we are not of international standards in terms of education, science, technology and sports. Only cricket is an exception in this case despite the fact that only a few nations play cricket. However, that cricket too is on the verge of downfall.

Although Bangladesh somehow qualified for the Super-12 round, they were ousted from the World Cup with the lowest place in the point table. Bangladesh have lost all the five group matches. Although Bangladesh played comparatively better against Sri Lanka and West Indies, they were completely outplayed by England, Australia and South Africa. But a false notion was created which led the cricket fans to believe that Bangladesh will qualify for the semi-final. Some even started believing that Bangladesh would win the tournament if fortune favoured us. Our wins against foreign teams by on the sub-standard wickets of Mirpur and Chattogram also played a role in creating such a hype.

Every game has wins and defeats. Then, why do we discuss Bangladesh’s performance in the World Cup so much? The first reason is that the newcomers in the tournament – Scotland, Namibia and Papua New Guinea – have played well. Notably, Bangladesh lost against Scotland in the first round. Sri Lanka and West Indies, often considered teams of the same standard as Bangladesh, also have played better than the Tigers. The second reason is the hype which was created just before the beginning of the World Cup.

Several controversial post-match comments from the cricketers and subsequent debate of the family members of the players and ex-cricketers, is the third reason. I don’t know any team playing without painkillers. The fourth reason is the autocratic attitude of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) which led to the rise of the ‘big five’ and political affiliation of the board. The last reason is retaining the older players.

I first noticed the trouble in Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup squad when the power hitter batsman Tamin Iqbal had withdrawn himself from the tournament. He claimed to make way for the newcomers but we can sense there is something wrong. There are many senior players including Shoaib Malik in Pakistan but the country’s selectors did not exclude them. The World Cup is not an experiment where any tested players will be left out. Previously, news on players going to foreign countries, and team management members’ casino scandal had also worried me.

The past, however, cannot be mended. We must move forward thinking about the future. This is the best time to reorganise the cricket management and team of Bangladesh. Cricket is not an urban game anymore; it has expanded to rural areas. Many teenagers in Bangladesh dream of becoming cricket stars now. We only have two paths now. We can either become the charioteer of their dreams or shatter the dreams. So, we must proceed with long-term plan. Otherwise, the fate like that of Zimbabwe and Kenya is awaiting us.

Many people believe all members of the selector panel including the BCB chief must resign. If they really love the cricket of Bangladesh they themselves will step down, taking the responsibility of all failures. Or else they must be kicked out.

Secondly, it is time to think about a new BCB chief. We can say from the past experience, (a) new BCB chief will be a former cricketer or a renowned cricket organiser. (b) The person will be above party politics. Politicians are very unfit on the playground. (c) Unlike the incumbent BCB president, who is a three-in-one persona being a lawmaker and business personality simultaneously, the new BCB chief will possess adequate merit and time for the BCB.

Thirdly, transparency must be followed in recruitment process of the coach. Former cricketer Lance Klusener is the head coach of poor country Afghanistan, on the other hand, Russell Domingo is the coach of BCB that has Tk 9 billion (900 crore) in its Fixed Deposit Receipt (FDR) and that cannot be accepted at all. Local coaches must be inspired. Recently, former India captain Rahul Dravid has been appointed as the head coach of the country and he will take over from another former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri.

Fourthly, the cricket pitch for the local tournaments must be built keeping the international tournaments in mind. And finally, older cricketers will have to be given a farewell with respect and recognition for their contribution.

Cricket is our lone appearance in the international community, the dream of our children and teenagers and the symbol of love of our nation. We want to keep our hope alive. Do not snatch away our dream and potential with mismanagement, nepotism, corruption, inability and partisanhip.

* Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan is a former secretary and professor. This article appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Ashish Basu and Hasanul Banna