Many here in Bangladesh are becoming a bit too fond of conspiracy theories. Whenever a disaster strikes, there are people who will inevitably jump to the conclusion that a foreign hand(s) is involve. This tendency of looking mysteries and conspiracies hav spread to the sporting arena. Apparently some people have forgotten that in any sporting contest someone or some team must lose. To them whenever Bangladeshi cricket team loses it is either the umpires fault or the so-called ICC Big 3–India England and Australia–conspired to defeat Bangladesh. Add to those allegations of match fixing. After the Tigers lost the closely fought encounter with India some people were ready to believe almost anything including the innuendo that the result of the match was pre-determined. First of all this line of thing is a serious insult to our cricketers. The body language of the players clearly showed how crestfallen were they at how their near victory turned into defeat within a space of a few balls. No fixed match can be this close.The T-20 World Cup and Bangladesh
Tamim Iqbal scored heaps of runs and in scored them a style that enthralled cricket lovers all over the globe. And what more can one say about Mostafizur Rahman
Syed Mehdi Momin
Many here in Bangladesh are becoming a bit too fond of conspiracy theories. Whenever a disaster strikes, there are people who will inevitably jump to the conclusion that a foreign hand(s) is involve. This tendency of looking mysteries and conspiracies hav spread to the sporting arena. Apparently some people have forgotten that in any sporting contest someone or some team must lose. To them whenever Bangladeshi cricket team loses it is either the umpires fault or the so-called ICC Big 3India England and Australiaconspired to defeat Bangladesh. Add to those allegations of match fixing. After the Tigers lost the closely fought encounter with India some people were ready to believe almost anything including the innuendo that the result of the match was pre-determined. First of all this line of thing is a serious insult to our cricketers. The body language of the players clearly showed how crestfallen were they at how their near victory turned into defeat within a space of a few balls. No fixed match can be this close.
In the opinion of this writer the Tigers put up a great show. They had nothing to be ashamed of. The fought against all odds but just fell at the finishing line. Things like this happen and this is not the first time, and also not the last that India and indeed some other teamshas snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. And Bangladesh will in future no doubt do the same.
For those who keep on criticising Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad I only have to say that it is always easy to be wise after the event and hindsight vision is always 20/20. Look Mushfiq, who was in indifferent form for quite some time was playing a crucial knock. At a very important juncture of the match he hit two consecutive boundaries. An almost eerie silence engulfed the huge stadium. Blood must have been coursing through his veins. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, as the captain, did everything within legal means to delay proceedings. This definitely did not help the man on strike. And the ball that Hardik Pandya was perhaps the worst ball he delivered in the match. No top order player in the world would try to place that type of a ball for a single or two. TheyGayle, Dhoni, Rahane, Finch, virtually anyone who is regarded a decent T-20 batsmanwould try to hit the ball out of the ground. There is such a thing call instinct. When a batsman in a T20 match faces such a delivery his basic instinct is to attack thats just what Mushfiq did. Unfortunately it was not his day and he mistimed the ball and a catch was offered which the Indian player gleefully accepted. A similar thing happened with Mahmudullah. He was going great guns. And the ball delivered to him was probably even worse than the one faced by Mushfiq. Mahmudullah backed himself and hit the ball hard. He connected better than Mushfiq but Ravindra Jadeja pulled off an incredible catch.
Some days things just dont go for you the way you want. However the Tigers can take solace from the fact that they did not disgrace themselves in the tournament. They proved that that they are turning into a formidable unit in the T-20 format, hitherto their weakest link in the chain. They lost all four matches in their group. However the score line could easily have been two-all if things turned a little differently.
Individually too the Tigers did great. Tamim Iqbal scored heaps of runs and in scored them a style that enthralled cricket lovers all over the globe. And what more can one say about Mostafizur Rahman. He had the best bowling analysis in the whole World Cup5-22 against New Zealand. In all the matches he proved to be the most potent weapon for the Tigers. He is just a young tyro but he already has a mature head on his shoulders. If he can maintain his fitness, there is no reason why should not emerge as one of the all-time best bowlers at least in the shorter formats of the game. Already he has shown that he has the ability to deceive the best of batsmen time and again. Lets keep our fingers crossed and hope that he is not stricken by illness or injury. He is a precious gem and must be treated as such.
Mashrafe Mortaza is a fighter to the core. The team has gelled under his captaincy and it would be sad day for Bangladesh cricket when he finally hangs up his boots.
And who can forget those three glorious catches by Saumya Sarkar. Unfortunately though he mostly failed to click with the bat. Saumya Sarkar and Sabbir are perhaps the best two strikers of the ball that Bangladesh have. Both of them had somewhat of a poor run. The ever dependable Shakib Al Hasan performed well if not brilliantly. I particularly like the way he bowled in the match against India. However Mushfiq Rahims place may be in some jeopardy. He is having a prolonged drought of runs. To play as a specialist batsman he must find some runs and the sooner the better.
Bangladesh have been playing cricket for quite some time. There was the Asia Cup in Dhaka. Then the qualifying round matches followed by the main group matches. Players will get a much needed rest. However in these of highly competitive cricket they will soon start practicing and making strategies for future matches. A few will be playing in the Indian Premier League. Best of luck to them.
Now my two cents on the bowling action issue. Again many conspiracy theories have been bandied about regarding how the ICC big shots were out to get us one way or the other. I beg to differ. I know it is not a popular view but something is clearly wrong with Arafat Sunnys bowling action. Now I am no cricket expert but Mohammad Isam, the noted Bangladeshi cricket writer stated way back that Sunnys action was suspect especially when he delivered the quicker one. Now those of you who have played some cricket know the difference between bowling a ball and chucking it. Arafat straightens his arm at the point of delivery when a bowler is only allowed the rotation of his shoulders to impart spin or pace.
The question naturally arises as to why he was allowed to play so many matches. Well it is the umpires duty to detect and report a bowler who chucks. And he is not the first bowler who got away playing with a suspect action. Saeej Ajmal played dozens of matches before he was reported and subsequently had to remodel his action. May be I am being too gullible bit I dont find any evidence of vicious plot to sabotage the progress of Bangladesh cricket..
Cricketing nations like India, Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa have infinite resources. The cricket there is highly organised a closely monitored. Anyone with a suspect action is identified at the age-group level and he is either made to rectify his action or has to leave the game. Even then Indian players like Rajesh Chauhan were banned and Harbhajan Singh was reported. The South Africa Nick Botha was also punished.
However suspending Taskin was harsh to say the least. It was basically said that his action was quite okay but when he digs it short his elbow straightens. So common sense dictates that he should be allowed to bowl and if the umpires find anything wrong with his bouncer they can always call it a no ball.
Having said that age is on his side and Taskin, with proper guidance from Heath Streak and others, can rectify his bouncer can return as an even better bowler. So the ICC decision may well turn out to be a blessing in disguise for Taskin, who may serve the country for years.
Last of all, the manner in which some Bangladeshis gloated over Indias semifinal defeat against the eventual champions West Indies left a bad taste in the mouth. Nationalism and patriotism are good things. However when your neighbouring countrys defeat in a game of cricket becomes a cause for vulgar celebrations then as a nation we have much soul searching to do. It was simply not cricket.
The writer is Assistant Editor of The Independent and can be contacted at: [email protected]
