Tamim engulfed in ‘retirement-drama’ debate
Cricket may be just a sport and the Afghanistan series may be just another international series. But when the top brass of the country has to get involved to solve a problem on the playing field, then one has to accept that the people on the field have most likely failed to do their jobs properly.
The “playing field” just doesn’t mean the green pastures inside the stadium, the world of sports is a field in itself! Before the first ODI in Chattogram, Tamim announced that he is not completely fit, he will assess his fitness after playing the first ODI. The BCB president reacted furiously and in extremely aggressive language crucified Tamim in criticism.
In reply, Tamim arranged a press conference and with a quavering voice announced he will no longer play the game – ‘Goodbye’ to international cricket. In the context of Bangladesh, all this has become a part of the game. However, when looked upon from the sport’s perspective, this just sets a bad precedent for the game. During this entire fiasco, at every stage there were some actions that could’ve taken to normalise the situation. But at every step of the way, continuously, the opposite happened.
So, what should’ve been the right course of action? Tamim, as a captain, should not have announced himself ‘unfit’ at the pre-match press conference, not talk about his haughty intentions to test his fitness by playing the match. After Tamim made the mistake of making such a statement, Nazmul Hassan should not have lost his cool in front of the media in the middle of a series. Tamim’s statement did not create too much of a debate, so he (Nazmul) could’ve avoided the issue. Or personally ask Tamim for an explanation as to why he made such a revealing statement right before the series began.
Tamim, hurt and clearly feeling emotional by Nazmul’s aggressive comments, should not have called a press conference a day after the first ODI and announce his retirement. If he was too hurt by that statement, he could’ve phoned the BCB president and asked him why he said those things. Or, Tamim and co. are used to such erratic behaviour of the BCB president as in the past too he has made such explosive comments on sensitive issues and then conveniently forgotten about it. So Tamim could’ve just paid no attention to the issue and discussed this matter after the series.
The unfortunate reality is that none of them took the right action during any stage. Yet, one of them is the top-most guardian of Bangladesh cricket and the other one is of the ODI team.
In such situations, a simple conversation alleviates tensions by a lot. But for some unknown reason they chose not to do so and created an deliberate ‘communication gap’ between themselves. The situation deteriorated to such an extent that the prime minister had to reside over an impromptu ‘court session’. The amusing matter is, in that ‘court session’ all they did was have a discussion, which they could’ve done between themselves much before. Had they done so, Tamim’s glorious career would not have to include the ignominious chapter of ‘retirement-drama’.
Yes, the BCB president did try to contact Tamim, but that’s after the disaster had already struck. It’s expected that Tamim, who had already announced his retirement, would not want to pick up his calls anymore! After taking such a drastic step, why would he want to accept defeat in this ‘ego battle’?
The personality clashes in Bangladesh cricket have gradually grown so stern that the person at the highest echelon of the country has to step in as the ‘umpire’ to stop the quarrel. Upon prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s request, Tamim once again announced that he will return to the playing field. But it’s not like the PM told the quarreling parties something they didn’t know or didn’t understand already. If the sports-loving prime minister could evoke the sporting mentality from the two parties and sort the issue inside three hours, why couldn’t the sports’ people do it themselves, that’s the question.
This question begets another question. Tamim forgot the dispute and revoked his retirement, standing in front of the Ganabhaban the BCB president said in a happy tone, “How can we play without our captain!” But did this ensure that in a distant or a not so distant future we won’t see another wrongful precedent being set at the playing field similar to this one? Because other than the game itself, everything else that’s happening on the field right now is unsportsmanlike and a clash of egos is very much apparent. It doesn’t always come out in the open, but in secret everyone is harbouring the same attitude. When the situation suits it comes out in the open and then the top brass of the country has to step in.
This just proves that the sport’s people are not doing their jobs properly. They have failed to perform their duties. Such examples were seen in Bangladesh cricket in the past as well, it happened once again this time and if things continue going the same way we can ‘hope’ to see similar things in the future as well.
From Tuesday midnight till Friday evening, when this report was written, in between everything that has transpired in Chattogram and Dhaka, the first ODI of the Bangladesh-Afghanistan series has become nothing but a small foot note. Rather than calling it a cricket series, it would be more appropriate to call it a ‘drama series’.
And in this series, Bangladesh’s opponent is not Afghanistan but inner turmoil, which nearly completely hid Bangladesh’s terrible batting and the embarrassment of the 17-run defeat. The game of cricket has become a really small part of the entire debacle. Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha has probably tried to keep the team’s attention to the game, but how much has he succeeded in it, who knows!
Just to remind you, the second ODI taking place at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium today (Saturday) is a do-or-die match for Bangladesh. Having already lost the first match, a defeat today will hand Bangladesh a series defeat. However, almost the entirety of stand-in captain Litton Das’s press conference before the match was centred around Tamim’s retirement-drama. At one point, an irritated Litton was forced to tell a questioner, “Bhai, I’m here to talk about tomorrow’s (Saturday) match. If you continue asking questions about Tamim, then it would be better for the board president to be here, I should leave.”
Since Litton’s press conference, the cricketing milieu has returned. Although Tamim won’t take part in this series anymore, withdrawing his retirement after the prime minister’s intervention has returned a sense of calm in the country’s cricket for the time being.
I have to say ‘for the time being’ because even hoping that this intervention from the highest echelon of the country will take Bangladesh cricket out of the wrongful cycle it has been stuck in for so long will be a mistake in itself. Rather, prepare yourself to see more such dramas in the near future.
*This report appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ashfaq-Ul-Alam Niloy