That’s a question only time will answer. But there are other pressing questions we can’t ignore.
Canada-based midfielder Shamit Shome is set to make his Bangladesh debut in the Asian Cup Qualifier against Singapore on June 10. The 26-year-old, born to Sylheti parents, follows in the footsteps of Jamal Bhuiyan and Hamza Choudhury as another expatriate embracing his roots.
A few expatriates have made their way into Bangladesh football in recent times, with Canada-based Shamit Shome being the latest addition after England-based Hamza Choudhury, Fahamedul Islam from Italy, Finland-based Tarik Kazi, and Denmark-based Jamal Bhuiyan.
For any structure – a physical one like a skyscraper or an abstract one like Bangladesh cricket – the most important part is its foundation as once the foundation crumbles the structure is bound to come crashing down.
I In 2007 as the inaugural edition was about to start, Twenty20s were still widely viewed as the ‘fun’ version of cricket. Its reputation as the ‘fun’ version, prompted the ‘serious’ cricketers to distance themselves from it. Perhaps seeing something like a ‘bowl out’ decide the fate of tied matches inclined them to stay away from such frivolity.
Shanto’s strike rate is the second lowest among all captains of the 20-team T20 World Cup, barring the Uganda skipper Brian Masaba (108), who is a bowling all-rounder.
Bangladesh will begin their five-match Twenty20 International series against Zimbabwe today at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on an outfield that has certainly seen better days.
“This many people usually don’t turn up to see a fitness test at six in the morning. I’m sure they are here because it’s happening at the Bangabandhu [National] Stadium,” said Shahriar Nafees, the current cricket operations manager, after the national team’s fitness test at the famed venue yesterday.
The Daily Star (TDS): We have witnessed a huge change in you since the lockdown last year. How did you manage to do that? What are the areas you worked on?
Abysmal failure in all three departments -- batting, bowling and especially fielding – has come to the fore more vividly than ever during Bangladesh’s recently-concluded New Zealand tour. Bangladesh were whitewashed in both T20Is and ODIs. And the thumping losses were only a reflection of Bangladesh’s failure as a unit.
The Daily Star (TDS): There has been a long break. How do you see Bangladesh’s pace unit right now?
Despite the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Monday deciding to allow interested players across the country to avail the board’s training facilities and resume individual practice following a four-month halt due to the coronavirus pandemic, a few players remain in a state of confusion.
On this day, 20 years ago, Bangladesh achieved a new milestone, a new dawn in the nation’s cricketing history after being recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as the 10th Test-playing nation. Bangladesh had already announced its prominence in international cricket when the Tigers won the ICC Trophy -- the first major trophy for the country -- by beating Kenya in 1997. After that, Bangladesh’s triumph over Pakistan in their maiden World Cup campaign in 1999 had just made their path to being a Test-playing nation a bit smoother.
May 26, 2020 marked the 15th anniversary of Mushfiqur Rahim’s international debut for Bangladesh. The wicketkeeper-batsman revealed his regrets, points of satisfaction, desires and much more during a long conversation with The Daily Star’s Ekush Tapader.
The Daily Star (TDS): How are you spending your time back home?
On February 26, 1971, with political turmoil at its peak and the two states -- East and West -- of the then Pakistan on the verge of war, a rebellious Roquibul Hassan, the only cricketer from the East amid the 10 other cricketers from the dominating West, was cheered when he walked onto the ground with a ‘Joy Bangla’ sticker on his bat to play for Pakistan in an unofficial Test against an International XI at the Dacca Stadium.
I have been watching matches on TV since the 1996 Cricket World Cup. My love for the sport developed from watching the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya, Romesh Kaluwitharana and Brian Lara smashing fours and sixes on the small black and white TV we had back in my hometown in Sylhet.
Is it possible that a representative national team would play two Tests at the same time against two different oppositions, that too on opposite sides of the world, on the same day?
