If I am a celebrity, I am for everyone

I have worked only for a day. Besides, there was some work like collecting and submitting nomination papers. If you are talking about the election campaign, then yesterday (Monday) marked the first day. The experience was good on the first day. However, addressing rallies and delivering political speeches are not my strengths. I acknowledge my weaknesses in this regard, and I hope to overcome them gradually. 

It’s better than my expectations. However, everything will be proven only on the voting day. Regardless of how many people are there now, if people don’t turn up on the voting day, the result won’t be clear. The people of Bangladesh wants results in everything like in sports.

I think a lot about everything. Whenever anything happens in the country, I start thinking about why it happened or how it could have been different. People participate in talk shows and discuss what actions can yield results. However, these talk shows, discussions, and Facebook statuses often lack real-world impact. Many individuals have millions of followers on social media, but when they call for something, only a limited number of people, at most a hundred, may respond. The positive side of social media is its potential to create awareness, but this depends on one's popularity. Celebrities typically garner higher responses. 

Several social media influencers have gained fame, accumulating fans and followers. For instance, I have many fans across the country, but the number from Magura might be quite low. If the people in my own area don't support me, what's the meaning of having such a large number of fans? 

Even though I have 15 to 16 million followers, I don’t know how many are from Magura. I reside in an area where a significant portion of the population doesn't have smartphones. Some use smartphones, some use basic phones, and many don’t have phones at all. Therefore, I have to connect with three distinct generations — from children aged 12 years to individuals over 80. Coming from the sports world, I have never ventured beyond its confines. This political arena is entirely new to me, and I am learning a lot of new things. 

The fact that I have been playing for a long time in the national team is helping me a lot. However, that’s only among the youth. It is not the case among the farmers. But they too might think that my victory will be good for Magura. One thing I can say for sure that even if I haven’t helped anyone, I never did any harm to anybody. I have this one advantage for sure (smiles). So it is not impossible for them to think positively about me at least.

It’s better to start something new at the far end of your career in another sector if the transition is smooth. I would have been too early if I became a MP during the last poll. I thought it was the right time for me to make the transition. Besides, it’s not impossible to work for cricket after joining politics. A massive development in cricket is not possible without political involvement. How far can you go with your personal initiatives? At best you can establish an academy and a proper field, but you don’t even know how many matches will be played there. If you can develop a political identity, then it will be easier to do anything professionally. Your ideas will get attention. You will be able to initiate talks at many places internationally. If I want to do anything on my own, it won’t get any value, but if I have a position in politics, then it will have value. There is no alternative to it to do something big.

I can even play for four more years. Everything will depend on time. I am 36 now. Probably, I will be able to continue for three to four more years if I have a strong commitment. Otherwise, I will play for another one and a half to two years at most. My statement regarding playing till the 2025 Champions Trophy was based on my assumption. It may be that I play very badly in the next three consecutive series. The team then naturally will drop me. I won’t have as much motivation as I used to have at this age. For this reason, many go into retirement after performing badly at this age. However, I will try my best to keep performing well and keep playing till the 2025 Champions Trophy. If I can perform at the same level till that time, then I may think of further extending my career. 

It won’t be difficult at all. I would have a fifty-fifty chance of getting a team in the IPL (Indian Premier League) had I registered as a player in the auction. Apart from the IPL, I will get picked if I want in any of the other franchise tournaments across the world. If I don’t play in those tournaments, then I will get three months. Besides, the MPs do not need to stay in their areas round the clock. Your will as to how much you want to work for the people is important here. People do not want much nowadays. People want peace. They want assurance that nobody will annoy them or will oust them from their homes or will occupy their lands illegally. These are simple expectations. They will never ask for money or any business-related benefits. They now can do those themselves. All they want is security. Although the prices of daily commodities are high, you will never hear that someone has died hungry these days. Everyone is doing something. However, I think there are still big scopes to work in the education and medical sector in addition to security and employment.

I never did have any lack of confidence, but I am not saying that I will be successful in politics. I don’t have that confidence. It’s a completely unknown place to me. However, I am trying to enjoy and get help from all. Now I need that more than any time else. When I was younger, I very much needed help from the coaches. Now, I need that guidance here too. Now I need coaches in politics as well. I will try to get that from the senior politicians. 

I am 100 per cent sure that they want me. However, this must be proven through voting. Many are thinking that I will get elected automatically. I will urge them to vote for me even if they think that. I just want to say one thing to all that please cast your vote no matter who you are voting for. Let the election be a festive one. I have seen in my childhood that elections were held in a festive environment. Later, I couldn’t be in my area during several elections due to the busy schedule of the national team. But I remember elections being held in a festive mood. I want that environment back.

There will be challenges every day. Every day will be different. There is a chance in cricket of assuming how the pitch will behave. However, there is no such scope in the field of politics. It’s like the weather of Melbourne or London (smiles). You may experience all the four types of weather in a single day. Sometimes it rains, sometimes it’s sunny. You have to be prepared for everything and that’s the most important part. But I believe there won’t be much problem if I can serve well.

It will be great if my career in politics gets as long as my career in cricket. I have been playing cricket for 17 years with the national team. As such, I will have to get elected MP for five to ten times. Actually I have a long term plan. But if I fail to serve people and they don’t vote for me, then all my plans are valueless. However, my vision is big. I think there will be much to worry about, if I can serve well.

Actually, I have to learn how much time is enough for the people of my area and how much time I need to spend there. If the answer is 12 months, then I will have to plan accordingly. However, I think I don’t have to spend so much time here. If I can discharge my duties properly, that would be enough. If I can spend some time with the people in the area at least once every month or spend 20 days with them every two months, then it would be sufficient. Having contact with everyone is important here. The whole world runs through smartphones and the internet. Magura is not exempt from that. However, it’s natural that there will be confusion among the people regarding me as they haven’t seen me closely. They don’t know my style of work. 

It has always existed on earth and will continue to exist. There has been no person in the history of the earth who didn’t have any haters. Everyone has haters. The number of haters is high in the case of high-profile individuals. For instance, does everyone like our prime minister? Everyone will have people against them and in their favour. There is nothing to worry about. It will hinder you from moving forward if you think about the haters. If you have a good intention, if you have the will to do something good for the people, then your path must be straight. All the side-talking will only slow you down. The people around you sometimes do it deliberately to hamper you. 

I believe it will help me greatly. All my experience of being in the dressing room for a long time, handling the coach, board president, cricket operations and media and experience of playing under a captain and as a captain will come to my help. I have seen many political situations similar to many situations in my cricket career. Politics is also like a game. I have played cricket in the past and now I will have to play in the political arena. There is everything here, and managing all those things is a tough task. However, as I played cricket for 17 years, this will definitely help me.

I don’t have much to say about this. But whenever I feel that I am not doing right, I try to avoid those things. Besides, I don’t see any problem in earning in an honest way.

There could be controversies. Although I have investments in the stock market, I was never involved in any trades in person directly. Naturally, it’s not possible for me to know everything. To be honest, I have absolutely no idea regarding this. I don’t even know how to trade. It is important for people to learn the truth. I think the news media also has a big part in providing people with wrong information. Many times the information you provide is not verified properly. The viral contents on social media have become new contents. I think it should be just the opposite. The news on the mainstream media should be discussed on social media a day after publishing. I must say, it’s a great failure in terms of journalism. It is disappointing that you have to cover the viral contents on social media. In the past, it was completely the opposite. There was a time when news on mainstream media used to go viral on social media. The biggest problem is that many journalists published the news without verifying the truth. However, I don’t want to talk about that as I think I will lose my focus if I concentrate on these issues. 

It is normal that those who are in demand will get more calls. Those who don’t have any demand will not be called (laughs).

Look, my manager takes care of these issues. One could say my manager should have informed me with more scrutiny. Sometimes, I don’t even know whose showroom I’m going to open. It is not always a prime issue for me to know who owns the jewelry shop I am going to inaugurate. It is also not possible to scrutinize his past. Also, I can ask why you people did not act if the businessman, who has been living in Dubai for so long, has such a disgraceful past. Instead, you made him viral. I don’t know what his past is. If he had committed any crime, why didn't you write earlier? I saw the news after I had gone there. Then I realised there might be some problems as I was not acquainted with him earlier.

I don’t think there is any warning. What is the problem here? If I’m a celebrity, I’m so for all. Criminals, police, government people and non-government people, children and elderly—all enjoy my game. I belong to all. I cannot pick and choose here. You are saying he is a criminal. Now it’s not my responsibility to nab him. Who is supposed to nab him? It is also your failure that you had not done any news on him till then. We always make offhand remarks without considering our limits.

(Laughs) let the people do it. What is the problem? Let them label me Showroom Al Hasan, Business Al Hasan, Politician Al Hasan or Cricket Al Hasan. How many people can get so many epithets (laughs).  Does anybody call those people who gave me these nicknames? I don’t bother even when someone writes something false about me. But how many people are there whose news you can make people read so much? I’ve seen on Facebook that another person named Shakib has done this and that. Content on that has garnered hundreds of thousands of views! I think this is something unprecedented in Bangladesh. It evokes both criticism and discussion when you see something for the first time. These would not even be any issue in India or other countries as these are normal to them. Because, they have seen the likes of Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar. But these are new to us. It would seem acceptable to all if anyone else does these in future.

I don’t think this affects the team. As I’m not with the team right now, they (players) are hardly thinking about me. These issues are brought to fore when the team doesn’t perform well. There are so many matches when I took part in shooting the day before or skipped the practice yet I did well on the field. You did not say anything on such occasions. If that did not affect me, why would this do? It is better not to mislead people. The people of Bangladesh are much naïve and credulous. There are many people who sometimes ask me many controversial questions. But when I ask them two counter questions, they retract and say they did not think this way. These all are probably the effect of social media.

I still don’t think the interview was anything fiery. Everything I said in the interview is true. I’ve made every point clear and that was the main goal of the interview. I thought I must make everything clear before going to the World Cup.

Who had a problem due to Tamim’s absence? And who dropped him? Why would there be an impression that we dropped him? What happened and when has been made clear in the interview. I spoke very much to the point in the interview. I didn’t say anything from a grudge or from personal choice. I would keep answering the same way if I am asked the questions again as I was right in every point.

Distance might appear between people over time. But that did not affect our game before Papon bhai (BCB president Nazmul Hassan) talked about it openly. We never had any problem with it and there would not have any impact.

Why not? It can happen. We would have played together if I had played the New Zealand series (before the World Cup). If he plays in the future and so do I, there is every possibility that we will play together. I had no role in axing or calling him. I also said this about Riyad bhai (Mahmudullah). I was not the captain when he was dropped. I was captain when he was recalled.  Those who were in charge thought he was needed. You cannot drop anyone at will. Let’s say, as I’ve joined politics, will I drop all the old leaders-activists immediately? Is it possible for me to drop the player who was captain just in the previous series? It is not my problem that he has retired. Social media also had a role here.

Not yet. Perhaps we’ll have talks after the election or on Zoom call anytime.

I did not see it. So it is difficult for me to know about it or make any comment. But I don’t think a coach would slap a player this way. Perhaps he got angry, pushed him and told him something at best. However, I don’t have any knowledge about any such incident. It was not an issue during the World Cup. There would have been much less talk had we won against the Netherlands.

My plan is to do an analysis about Magura town by bringing in any big local or foreign team (of experts). The team will slate a master plan for Magura on what can be done to ensure there would be no problem in Magura in the next 20-30-40 years. Then I want to implement that master plan.

Projects such as flyovers and metro rail are being taken in Dhaka…doing something of that large scale would take time. But things would be easier when you have a plan as work can be done based on priority. I plan to bring the whole Magura into free wi-fi coverage. It will create a lot of jobs.  Freelancers would be able to work sitting in their own home. I heard Rajshahi is a very beautiful city. I have never gone there but I would try to replicate that here in Magura.

Look, among the politicians I’ve talked most with the honourable Prime Minister. I’ve met her so many times, talked with her on so many occasions at so much length. I have not discussed politics at such length and breadth with anyone other than her. She is my idol. The vision, the spirit to work I’ve seen in her is just amazing and unmatched.

He has really done massive work here. I thank him. When I come to Magura, I see well paved roads even in remote areas. It is obviously challenging for me to continue so much development he has done.

Wherever I go, I strive for doing better. I even said that I will do better than Papon bhai. I will try to do better than the current MP. As he has been an MP for a long time, I’ve many things to learn and many suggestions to take from him. It is possible to march forward only if we can work hand in hand.

As I was an allrounder, I want to make Magura an allrounder. I want Magura to develop not only in sports, but in all sectors including education, culture and so on. As I’m a sportsman, I would probably be seen more at the stadium. But I want Magura to advance in all aspects so that other districts follow this district.