From Ashes to Dust-The wonder boy of Bangladesh cricket and an ailing system!

Bangladesh as a cricketing nation has never garnered much attention in the international arena apart from its fans and by god we are a passionate lot!! I have spent the last 11 years in India and despite the constant ridicule I stood firm in my passion and belief in this team. Sometimes we are rewarded with a good victory which helps reaffirm our faith in this team.

The picture above describes a painful scene for any Bangladeshi as recent as 2-3 years ago. But in recent times a wind of change was felt in our cricket circle. A lot has been achieved in the last 2 years and finally the team began to perform on a more consistent basis. But much like a drunken habit you can’t shake controversy comes back to hound us.

Latest to bit e the bullet is the wonder boy of Bangladesh cricket Ashraful. A player recognized by all as the most adept but at the same time someone who has frustrated people to no end by his seeming inability to achieve consistency.  In 2001 with Bangladesh still in its infancy in the game Ashraful became the youngest centurion in test, but as well documented has been his rise the fall was more gut wrenching. Ashraful in full flow will always be a delight but soon these moments became few and far in between.

Somehow or the other Ashraful found his way in the team and we as fans prayed that this would be his moment only to be disappointed.

Coming to match fixing an issue that has dogged the game on and off for the better part of the last 13 years. However, by fortune or otherwise had left Bangladeshi cricket relatively untouched.  Not to say we didn’t have our own problems. A cricket board being run by politicians and interests, a board that removes its best opener on the behest of the president and then have the prime minister step in to resolve the crisis are never good signs. Selections were often made and later changed on behest, and the less said about our domestic structure the better.  Off the field we seem to be stumbling from one controversy or the other and on it our forms remained mercurial.

We have been beginning to see a slow change over the last two years. Under coaches like Stuart Law and Shane Jurgensen the team began to show forms of consistency but even in these times off field issues kept taking precedence. First there was the tour of Pakistan and the claim that the BCB president agreed to undertake the tour in return of Pakistan’s support for his own candidacy for the post of ICC President. Fortunately, due to public outcry and a saner head at the helm of BCB the tour was cancelled. The issue of hiring Richard Pybus as head coach and his resignation within weeks with claims of non-payment and a lack of proper contract only tarnished the image of the board further. For a team to succeed the most ingredients are stability and consistency on and off the field, two things that has been sourly missed in cricket. These issues I highlight alas are common to the entire sub-continent and yet cricket goes on.

Coming to the BPL, organized on the lines of the IPL and the Big Bash League with the hope of creating a new talent pool and providing financial security to the players at the same time. While it has had relatively good success in the former the latter has been an abject failure with payment issues still lingering from the first edition. And here the issue of fixing becomes a little easier to understand. In a country such as ours the truth remains that most cricketers come from semi-urban areas and modest backgrounds. Carrying the dual burden of a nation’s expectations and gaining economic stability through the sport can be daunting for anyone. Couple this with the young age that many of these players are induced into the setup players become easy prey to the unsavory elements of fixing.

I think what hurt the common man was it was Ashraful who was involved in the scandal. The poster boy of Bangladesh cricket has long divided opinions and now let an entire nation down and that hurt. Rumors in the media about involvement of former crickets such as Rafique, Khaled Masud and Khaled Mahmud only worsened our pain. Given how our domestic sport structure is run the prevalence of fixing is not surprising and various cases have been reported in football over the years. So shouldn’t it be a surprise how cricket has remained clean for so long?

 I am in no way justifying Ashraful’s action. But you have to give credit to the amount of guts he showed by confessing on his own accord knowing what it would entail. Given the circumstances surrounding the game in this country is it really the lightning bolt we make it to be?

What should concern us all is how the issue will be handled by the board. The silver lining here being a recent change to positive outlook amongst its official towards the betterment of the game but a lot of the key figures remain the same and entrenched in the system so the ultimate result remains to be seen. When your star player says that he was not match ready and telling the board would not make a difference either ways goes on to show how the system is viewed by the players in the general sense.

Bangladesh as a cricketing nation is slowly gaining acceptance after 12 years of being taken lightly and ridiculed in the international arena. A time has finally come when we can stand with our heads held high and look forward. Dealing with fixing now is an opportunity for the board to set a trend on good governance and management and to root the issue for good once and for all. Steps should be taken for the greater good and not under influence and vested interests.