The curious hate of Bangladeshi fans towards Afghanistan cricket team
If you are being neutral, if you keep aside the jingoism, you can see the meteoric rise of the Afghanistan cricket team.
The war-ravaged country, with not a very supportive regime and dearth of resources, is producing some exciting young talents.
You cannot expect these people playing five-day cricket. That is almost impossible for them to thrive. There is no real incentive and opportunity of embracing the format. But they are becoming a beautiful force in the white-ball game.
Their once gung-ho batting approach is gradually molding into calculative aggression and the best part is, with their fearless attitude, which is perhaps something they possess genetically as a nation, the young batters are gradually juxtaposing nuance and finesse.
The bowling somehow has always been close to world class level. Rashid Khan, however you try to demean, is a super talent with exquisite skillset. Like Sri Lanka they produce mystery spinners one after another. The pace unit is still in the budding stage but it can be expected that the big-muscled, well-built people accustomed to live in harsh geographical conditions shall thrive in this discipline as the day and their cricket progress.
Their growth is somewhat akin to that of the West Indies. The Island people created the most incredible cricketing saga through their daredevil brand of cricket built upon the music of calypso and tapestry of North America with the drive of seeking the pride of black man that was hijacked brutally for centuries.
It is far-fetched to compare Afghans with the legendary Windies side but they play with somewhat similar zeal. The cricket passionate, who love the macho romance, but be thrilled with it.
Unfortunately, people of this country largely loathe them. It is said Muslim brotherhood is a huge matter in this country but Afghans somehow do not get that amity.
People in this part of the world even joined war in thousands when Afghans were ravaged and encroached by Soviet and US armies yet their cricket team got very little support or even sympathy.
Yet Pakistan cricket team has always been showered with outrageous love and support despite having some troubled past with the nations. People may claim they love the uncertainty and glamour of the Pakistan team but one can easily see the Muslim fraternity underneath these flimsy claims. Why didn't you support the Windies in the '70s and Australia in the '90s if glory and glamour matters that much?
The rise of Bangladesh in international cricket perhaps created the loathe for Afghans. The latter are newcomers but gradually ascending and becoming an even better side than the so-called Tigers who enjoy huge backings in terms of finance and social as well as even in political nexus.
Interestingly, Bangladeshi Muslims may cherish the Muslim brotherhood but when it somewhat collides with their self-interest, they normally abandon the spirit.
But another big factor is the ego of juniors and submission to seniors or the established forces.
For the first reason the support for Pakistan has waned largely. Bangladeshi people especially the new generation are no longer crazy for Pakistan and in that regard not for any other country except Bangladesh.
Bangladeshis are passionate about Argentina and Brazil in world football, where Bangladesh is ranked in the lowest tier, but cricket gives them the self-identity and the nationalist feelings supersede the Muslim fraternity.
The second reason is even more interesting. People normally love the underdogs in sports and Bangladeshis are no exception. However, when Bangladesh itself is inserted in the equation somewhat changes.
In our culture, people who are junior in age are expected to be submissive to seniors. Perhaps that is the reason Bangladeshi cricket fans not only have affinity but also somewhat loathe the Afghanistan side which came in international arena many years after the inception of Bangladesh team.
To make things worse with the free-spirit approach and their belligerence considering their war-ravaged history, the side is conquering the soft corners of the global cricketing fraternity.
That almost invokes hatred for many Bangladeshi fans. They are somewhat zealous. They cannot withstand the ‘small brother’ becoming big. That is why when Bangladesh is not even in the equation most of the people take an anti-Afghan stance. Age of Rashid Khan becomes a recurring theme of troll and the rise of Afghans are not popular in the mainstream media.
Beating Bangladesh in ODI at home has become a tough thing even for the superpowers these days. In the last eight years Bangladesh have lost only against England (twice) in home ODI series and Afghanistan became the second side and that with a game in hand threatening a white-wash.
Rather than praising them the cricketing fraternity here is somewhat in snooze. And one can anticipate if any other team would do it the social media would be showered with lyrical waxes.
The animosity to the Afghanistan cricket team despite being exciting and representing a Muslim country is an interesting topic. The ramifications can be seen in the greater scope where Bangladeshis interact. One may elaborate the field to economy, global relationship and especially politics.
Sports is a very interesting prism to comprehend society in large, after all.