While the cricket’s popularity is sky high in the country, the case is different in Cox’s Bazar. Considered as the best tourist spot of Bangladesh, the cricket seemed not to be thrived properly here. So far only one player — Mominul Haque — represented the Bangladesh team from the district and he too wasn’t grown here as a cricketer. The passion for cricket here is palpable what the Masters Cricket Carnival proved but proper plan and strategy hurt the growth of cricket in the city, which is blessed by the longest sea beach of world.
Since the establishment of the District Sports Association here in 1984, the organisers failed to run the cricket here regularly. After continuing the league inconsistently till 2007, the league was postponed for seven years here at a stretch before it began again in 2015.
Basically the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) pressure to continue the league forced the organiser here to wake up from the hibernation. But they still can’t devise a suitable plan to make cricket popular here or to draw the attention of the budding players who seemed to have more inclined to other sports like surfing, beach volleyball or football after depriving to play cricket regularly.
The aspiring cricketers here however don’t get enough channels to show their talent also. There is no talent hunt programme or no effective activities or publicity from the DSA to present them an opportunity to show their talent.
“The other sports are more popular than cricket here, “admitted the DSA secretary Anup Barua Apu. “The league was stopped for seven years which was the main reason that cricket’s popularity wasn’t gained the
way it should be. But we have taken an
initiative to run the cricket regularly here. Hopefully that will give the players a platform to show them.”
“Since it is a beach area, the games like volleyball, football, surfing, archery which is suitable to play here, is popular.”
A total of 29 clubs have been participated in the league last year, indicating that there are enough clubs and people here to play the cricket.
“We have a ground which is not suitable to play cricket, so we run the league in a ground which is used as park actually. Despite the lack of facilities we started running cricket. We sought the cooperation from the cricket board and hopefully they will come forward.”
He said just Tk. 4 lakh is enough to run a league properly in every year.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has a plan to build a full-fledged cricket complex here, named Sheikh Kamal International Cricket Stadium. Though they are yet to complete the complex, some international tournament has been organised here and then the BCB felt the people are eagerly waiting to show the cricketers.
The Masters Cricket Carnival also drew the attention as it was the topic of discussion here in the tea stall and other hang out places for the last three days. Because the tournament, organised by the former cricketers, is in experimental stage, it wasn’t arranged in wider space. But it could be the platform to involve more people in cricket.
The organisers have the plan to bring up former stars like Wasim Akram, Sanath Jayasuriya and other foreign former stars here for the tournament from the next time. If that plan is successful, the tournament could be the stepping stone of spreading cricket throughout the country. It would be more helpful for Cox’s Bazar where cricket should be thrived because of its scenic beauty and a great spot from tourism. No doubt the cricket gave Bangladesh an identity in the world. The country’s economic development could be bolstered heavily because cricket could draw the attention of the tourists more than the other sports here.