Sports fandom is truly a strange thing.
For years, millions of Bangladeshis have been draping themselves in indigo and white and cheering their hearts out for a South American country, praying for their triumph, shedding tears of joy in their victories and mourning their defeat in a football tournament where they have zero stakes.
Bangladesh’s love-affair with Argentina started with Diego Maradona and the 1986 FIFA World Cup and this unique bond has only grown stronger in the years that followed.
For the longest time, this was a one-sided relationship, with Argentinians being largely unaware of the tremendous support they have in a distant South Asian country.
But social media has once again worked its magic, as videos and pictures of Bangladesh’s Argentina fanaticism have made their way into Argentine media, and the people in Argentina are both shocked and overwhelmed by their ‘footballing compatriots.’
To show their appreciation, thousands of Argentinians have gathered together on social media and opened supporter groups for Bangladesh in the sport where they have found the most amount of success in, cricket.
However, Bangladesh’s new Argentinian fans are facing one major problem. Most of them have no clue what cricket even is!
But that’s not stopping them from cheering the Bangladesh cricket team. After Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s heroics took Bangladesh to a one-wicket win over India on Sunday, the hashtag, ‘Vamos Bangladesh’ started making rounds on different social media.
However, when it comes to cricket, Bangladesh and Argentina are more connected than most people realise.
In fact, Bangladesh have crossed paths several times with Argentina at the nascent stage of their cricketing journey when Argentina were technically the veteran cricketing nation and Bangladesh were the novice.
Argentina’s cricketing history
Argentina, a country that is entranced with football, actually has a very interesting cricketing history which dates back to the 19th century.
Cricket has been played in Argentina since the early 1800s and Argentina played its first official international match in 1868 against Uruguay, more than a century before a country named Bangladesh etched its place on the world map.
First-class cricket in Argentina began in 1912, when the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) sent a team to the country for a three-match series.
After that, in 1932 a team of South American cricketers, most of whom were from Argentina, toured England for a first-class series.
However, in spite of repeated efforts of the MCC, who were the game’s governing body at the time, cricket never quite caught on in the South American country.
Bangladesh and Argentina’s paths converge
In 1979, Bangladesh, a country that gained independence just eight years back, sent a cricket team to England to take part in the ICC Trophy for the first time.
A top-two finish in the tournament would’ve sealed Bangladesh a spot in the World Cup. However, for Bangladesh, it was too big a dream to accomplish at the time.
The realistic goal for the team was to win a few matches and try to qualify for the knockout stage of the 15-team tournament.
There was another country in that tournament who were in a similar position. They were also in England for their first appearance at the ICC Trophy. That team, of course, was Argentina.
In that tournament, Bangladesh and Argentina didn’t cross paths. Argentina were in Group A and Bangladesh were in Group B and both teams, as expected, failed to go past the first round.
The two teams finally met on a cricket ground in the 1986 edition of the tournament.
The match took place on 25 June, a day before Argentina was set to face Belgium in the semifinal of the FIFA World Cup.
On 26 June, Argentina defeated Belgium 2-0 thanks to a brace from the indomitable Maradona, sending Argentinians and Bangladeshis into a delirium.
But a day prior, only the Bangladeshis were smiling as they defeated Argentina by seven wickets in a group-stage match.
The two teams next met at the 1994 ICC Trophy, when once again Bangladesh came on top by seven wickets.
In the 1997 ICC Trophy, the edition which Bangladesh won to seal their place in the ICC Cricket World Cup for the very first time, Bangladesh started its campaign against Argentina, a match they won by five wickets.
Bangladesh took off in international cricket after the triumph in 1997, as in just three years time Bangladesh were a Test playing nation.
Argentina, on the other hand, regressed further in the cricketing landscape. They are still active in cricket and have men’s, women’s and age-level cricket teams. Argentina are regularly taking part in South American cricket competitions but are yet to make a splash at the global stage.
Deja vu
This is not the first time Bangladeshi football fans have made headlines in another country and garnered support for their cricket team.
Before the 2014 FIFA World Cup, a group of Bangladeshis, tired of the constant bickering between fans who support teams like Brazil, Argentina, Germany, France, opened a Facebook supporters group for Honduras.
This news somehow made its way to Honduras, a relatively unknown entity in world football who had qualified for their third ever FIFA World Cup in 2014.
The people in Honduras were amazed by Bangladesh’s support and in return started supporting the Bangladesh cricket team on social media.
But that unique relationship slowly faded away.
Eight years later, this time it’s the Argentines who are supporting Bangladesh cricket, with some fans even calling their football association to arrange friendly games with Bangladesh.
Although unlikely, watching a football match between Argentina and Bangladesh would be a dream come true for millions of Bangladeshis.
If, by some miracle, it does happen, perhaps Bangladesh could also extend an invitation to the Argentine cricket association, inviting them to play against a Test playing nation.
But no such steps are taken by either party, this unique and heartening convergence of fandoms will wane with time.