Bangladesh cricket’s rise has been phenomenal in recent times. Not only against all expectations they made the quarterfinal of the World Cup 2015, but they also beat subcontinent giants Pakistan and India in back-to-back series. But amidst their on-field highs, an ad in their national daily ‘Prothom Alo’ humiliated Indian players. Suraj Choudhari and Suvajit Mustafi think that such distaste has no place in the gentleman’s game and despite of notching up wins, Bangladesh hasn’t proved to be good winners.
It’s a story often heard: A struggling urchin from humble background befriending a rich kid who helps him rise in life. The association helps the urchin move up in life; he finally makes it big. But in the process, success goes into his head. This oft-repeated saga in life finds parallels with Bangladesh cricket.
There is a subtle but important difference between being confident and cocky. In Bangladesh’s case, one can detect that the cockiness is giving way to arrogance and lack of humility. And those are not good signs. Because when the inevitable fall comes, they will be pilloried. The disturbing mindset was seen yet again following their win over India in the One-Day International (ODI) series.
There are communities which take copious offence for the most trivial of matters, and Bangladesh is no different. There’s not much disparity in the cultures of India and Bangladesh. And keeping religious and cultural sentiments in mind an established media like Prothom Alo, could have used their sensitiveness in a more matured way. A half-shaved head is perceived as an act of humiliation in Indian culture and this act by Prothom Alo has only angered their powerful neighbours and taken away much of the sheen in their moment of glory.
Bangladesh is increasingly sending out the wrong signals to the world outside. When they lost to India in quarterfinals, the Rohit Sharma no-ball controversy was blown out of proportion. No doubt it was a bad umpiring decision, but one question the Bangladesh fans and administrators need to ask themselves: Did the decision adversely impact their team’s fortunes? The answer is an emphatic no. To believe otherwise is nothing but delusion.
Instead of celebrating their nation’s achievement of qualifying for the quarterfinal, they focused on anti-India rants — on the streets as well as on mainstream and social media. Even the then ICC President Mustafa Kamal didn’t refrain himself from accusing India of conspiracy and mentioning that the umpires were BCCI puppets. It was disgraceful statement for a man holding such a high office. Kamal ended up as a laughing stock.
In the recently-concluded ODI series, a section of the Bangladesh fans crossed the hate limits when they attacked team India fan, Sudhir Gautam after the second ODI at Mirpur.
Bangladesh deserves all the credit for their cricketing highs. But they also need to send out the right message to the world outside when they have battled so hard for so long to get their results they so thoroughly deserve. We would certainly like to remember for men like Nobel peace laureate Muhummad Yunus than the crass behaviour shown by the so-called cricket fans who attacked an innocent Sudhir Gautam or an irresponsible media like Prothom Alo.
(Suraj Choudhari, an avid cricket follower who plays the sport at club level, is a staffer with Criclife)
(Suvajit Mustafi consumes cricket for lunch, fiction for dinner and munches numerous other snacks throughout the day. Yes, a jack of several trades, all Suvajit dreamt of was being India’s World Cup winning skipper but ended up being a sports writer, author, screenwriter, director, copywriter, graphic designer, sportsmarketer , strategist, entrepreneur, philosopher and traveller. Donning so many hats, it’s cricket which gives him the ultimate high and where he finds solace. He can be followed at @RibsGully and rivu7)
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