It was most probably in 1997 when I had started following the Bangladesh cricket team. Being born & brought-up till my schooling days in Tripura is another reason to follow the Bangladesh as a country. And as many other Bengalis, my ancestors were also from Bangladesh. There was no cable TV at home & the TV channels like BTV used to clearly catch our antenna. Cricket in India is like a religion & it was earlier too. Only difference, there were no T-20s, Dil-scoop, Shehwag’s upper-cut or Dhoni’s helicopter shot. Yeah, these set of cricketers have joined later & the facet of the game has changed a lot now. And the current lot of Bangladesh Tigers are more exposed to these shorter format of the game.
Bangladesh as a cricketing nation is playing cricket for couple of decades now. In 1997, it was Akram Khan who used to be the captain & today his nephew Tamim Iqbal is one of the players of the current Bangladesh squad who are believing their potential and playing aggressive & positive cricket. It’s now more than 15 years, Bangladesh has gained Test status & till 2014 they were a struggling lot with losses & odd wins – mostly based on individual performances.
2015 – year to remember
It’s now more than 15 years, Bangladesh has gained Test status & till 2014 they were a struglling lot with losses & odd wins – mostly based on individual performances. BCB had appointed Chandika Hathurusingha as a head coach & they had Heath Streak as bowling coach. The baton of captainship has gone to Mashrafe Mortaza from Musfiqur Rahim. Hathurusingha was capable of injecting never-say-die attitude in all the cricketers & helped to bring the best out of these players with the fearless approach. And the result is vividly visible. This team has experienced cricketers like Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Shakib-al-Hasan, Musfiqur Rahim & Md. Mahamusullah who are playing for quite sometimes & the fiercely newcomers like Soumya Sarkar, Shabbir Rahman, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Al-Amin Hossain has added the balance to this side.
After winning 5-0 against Zimbabwe, they won the series against Pakistan, India & South-Africa in limited over tournaments which was just outstanding. In the T20 series against Pakistan they found a great left-arm fast bowler in Mustafizur Rahman from Satkhira whose off-cutters were tough to play. This was prominent when he took 13 wickets against India at home & won the series for his country. He has become a super star. It was important that he doesn't suffer from complacency & thank God, against South Africa also he was superb. In the South- Africa series, Bangladesh got another talented left-arm batsman Soumya Sarkar whose 90 from 75 balls in a rain affected game will speak a lot about his character.
Spin is the traditional strength for many teams among the Asian countries. Here comes the impact of Heath Streak who had identified 8-10 pacers who can consistently deliver the good for the team. And you have got Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hussain, Al-Amin-Hossain. These pacers have out-performed their spinning counterparts taking more number of wickets. These players have understood their role & playing accordingly to their potential. Although, they need more competitive cricket to play against all the countries.
Concern
Bangladesh have won many matches in 2015 & they have won the hearts of their loyal supporters for sure, but you have to accept that they have won all this games in their home turfs. They had defeated the English side in during the World Cup in Australia but to become a strong force in the cricketing fraternity, Bangladesh have to consistently win games in abroad. Now Bangladesh has to play more the longer version of the game. See the statistics of many of these cricketers – they are more exposed to shorter version of the game which has to changed now.
Many cricket pundits are asking what will happen if they are being exposed to the wickets of England, South Africa, Australia or New-Zealand? They are the same bunch of guys who had played unbelievable cricket & with these set of fearless cricketers, Bangladesh can brings great cheers for their fans & families back home.
-Suvadro
No comments:
Post a Comment