Bangladesh Cricket Board’s decision to ban flags is shocking

More than the Bangladesh cricket team, more than its players; the passionate cricket fans of this country have always earned enough adulation over the years. The Bangladeshi fans are colourful, the fans are attractive. They love to enjoy cricket. They are highly passionate about the game.

No matter which team plays in Mirpur, Chittagong, Khulna or Fatullah; the passionate Bangladeshi cricket fans don’t step back to exhibit their full support for the participating teams. Such a sporty attitude has made the Bangladeshi cricket fans extremely popular all over the world.

In the recently concluded Asia Cup in Dhaka; India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan had enjoyed enormous amount of support from the Bangladeshis at the stadium. Flags of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan flew in the gallery and one could not realize whether the match was going on at Kolkata, Lahore or Colombo. This indicates how passionate and hospitable the Bangladeshis are. The participating teams were made to feel at home in Dhaka. The atmosphere had always been electrifying.

In the ongoing World Twenty20 in Bangladesh the expression of passion has been the same. So far it has been a cricket carnival with a friendly atmosphere.

But sadly, from nowhere, some dull thoughts rose to the occasion to spoil the true spirit of the game.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) have threatened to ban local fans if they are seen carrying flags of any other teams competing in the tournament. BCB’s spokesman Jalal Younis said the Board had issued a directive after it “noticed that some local fans were flying foreign flags flouting the country’s flag rules. We’ve received instruction in this regard. As such, we’ve ordered security officials and guards to make sure Bangladesh fans cannot carry or fly flags of foreign nations in the stadiums.”

The BCB order came on the eve of Bangladesh’s 43rd Independence Day celebrations.

Personally, I am pretty shocked by this decision and I also didn’t understand this ‘flag rule’. Why this ‘flag rule’ has cropped up suddenly? Is this ‘flag rule’ strictly applicable for the passionate sports fans in countries like England, Australia or South Africa?

I don’t think so. As because, during Bangladesh’s tour of England in 2005, I noticed many English cricket fans to carry Bangladesh’s flag. Many non-Bangladeshi fans were seen cheering for Shakib with the Bangladeshi flag during the World Twenty20 in 2009 and there are many such instances.

As a cricket fan, is it a crime to carry the flags of other national teams? Or putting a ban on carrying other teams’ flags and kill a cricket fan’s passion is a crime?

Supporting a team or cheering for that team is someone’s personal matter. A fan has full right to show his/her support for a team and Bangladesh being a democratic country, such a rule seems pretty autocratic which is absolutely unacceptable.

No Bangladeshi cricket fan supports other teams while they are playing against Bangladesh, but they do show cheer for India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa or Australia while they are not playing against Bangladesh. So, what’s wrong with this? That’s how the true spirit of cricket should be and Bangladesh cricket fans are the perfect role models of ‘genuine cricket lovers’.

Moreover, in an ICC event how can the BCB come up with such rules? This is an ICC event and surely, it has to be the ICC to look after such issues.

According to some critics, this rule has cropped up after watching many Bangladeshis to cheer for the Pakistan cricket team during the Asia Cup. I am not sure how legitimate this thought is as not only one country’s flag has been under the ban, but if this is true, then I must say that the BCB have committed something immature which has already earned criticism throughout the world. If the BCB judges Pakistan’s army’s atrocity of 1971 with Shahid Afridi’s sixes in the same manner, then it’s fair to say that the BCB still has not grown up. I don’t think that the BCB’s heart is enlightened by the true spirit of cricket.

Cricket is just a game. It should be enjoyed wholeheartedly. It should be witnessed by not wearing any political sunglasses. Neither Virat Kohli represents the Indian BSF nor does Shahid Afridi represent the brutal Pakistani army of 1971. They are cricketers who don’t spread hate but love and passion throughout the world. They are the ambassador of a game which the millions follow; they are the role models for millions. It’s a crime to murder a cricket fan’s passion. It’s not worthy to mix cricket with politics.

Note: This article has been published on Sportskeeda on 27/03/2014 http://www.sportskeeda.com/cricket/bangladesh-cricket-boards-decision-ban-flags-shocking/ 

Thank You

Faisal Caesar

The world of cricket still misses Bob Woolmer

March 17, 2007 ICC World Cup: Bangladesh and Ireland had turned the world upside down by defeating two of the most lethal teams of world cricket. A spirited Bangladesh unit left India stunned at Trinidad while in Jamaica, Ireland made Saint Patrick’s Day very, very special by knocking Pakistan out of the World Cup with a sensational victory.

March 18, 2007 ICC World Cup: It was almost midnight in Dhaka. The flavour of Bangladesh’s victory had still not faded away. Before going to sleep, I switched on to TV to know whether there was any latest news on cricket or not. But, what I discovered was nothing but a shocker!

Almost every news channel’s ‘Breaking News’ had been: “Bob Woolmer dies in the hotel bathroom.” For a moment, it seemed that the world had stopped for me. Suddenly, my ecstatic mood ebbed away and I was gripped by deeper depressions. Bob Woolmer’s sudden death had jolted my world. A pall of gloom fell over the world cricket!

I was hit by a beamer, but tried to regain all my concentrations to follow every news bulletin. But my mind was cluttered.

Worse were the days that followed after his death. According to the print and electronic media, the Jamaican police had declared that Bob Woolmer was murdered! According to them, either Woolmer had been strangled or poisoned. Inevitably, there was assumed to be a connection with the Ireland result, especially given Pakistan’s past connection to match-fixing.

The Pakistani players fell under suspicions, and the furore spread across the planet, to countries that knew nothing about cricket. There were many contradictory speculations and things turned from ugly to uglier. After months of less-productive speculations, the Jamaican Police came to a conclusion that Woomer’s death had been natural.

As one of Woolmer’s ardent followers, I was not enjoying those speculations regarding his death. People were too much bothered with controversial issues rather than the great man’s contributions towards the game. People kept on unleashing new theories about his death from nowhere and created confusions for nothing.

Were all those necessary during such a tragic time?

While the world was busy with Bob Woolmer’s various death theories, I kept on thinking, how world cricket would be at a loss after his sad demise. For those cricket fans, who had followed cricket in the 90s, Bob Woolmer, alongside Allan Donald, Hansie Cronje and Jonty Rhodes, was a superstar as well. To that generation of fans, Bob Woolmer had been the first ever celebrity coach.

His unique methods about cricket coaching and in depth knowledge about the game were a big hit amongst the cricket followers of the 90s. The cricket followers of the 90s had witnessed how Woolmer transformed South Africa into a champion unit. His injection of technology-based coaching and more indulgence over fielding was highly appreciated during the 90s and still his various ideas are practiced by many.

His toughest assignment had been coaching Pakistan. But slowly and steadily, Pakistan did feel the Woolmer magic. Within a year after Woomer’s takeover as Pakistan’s coach, Pakistan started to dish out consistent results and the year spanning from 2005 to 2006 till the England tour will remain as one of the finest for Pakistan in last decade.

Fans pay tribute to Bob Woolmer

He was instrumental in making Inzamam a thinking captain, he was highly influential in shaping up Younis Khan as a decent cricketer and for a year he stabilized the Pakistani team. But, sadly, in Pakistan cricket, stabilities just become illusions in no time – Bob Woolmer found it tough to move forward amid so much controversy.

As a person, Woolmer was dignified and very friendly in nature. “I had an amazing relationship with him. He was more than just a coach, and he had a way of giving off of himself and it was something I could relate to. That made him more than a coach to me,” Jonty Rhodes’ such a statement indicates Woolmer’s personality.

He was never like a boss towards the players, but a great friend. “He was a friend of all the players. I used to call his wife, Gill, mom so he used to tease her that I am their third son. I know how it feels when you lose your close ones. Bob used to help each and every player and he has left a big void in Pakistan cricket,” said Younis Khan.

His gentle approach had been the key in managing players.

Even amongst the common people he was popular for his friendly nature. He had that unique ability to win hearts. His cheerful demeanour was very popular amongst the common people. Like many superstars, off the screen he was never a moody character but a very humble person.

Bob Woolmer has created a very dynamic impact throughout the world cricket – modernization of cricket coaching is nothing but Woolmer’s contribution.

According to former England captain and Bob Woolmer’s Kent mate Mike Denness: “He was a great lad, a great motivator. He was a bit eccentric at times but it is a terrible loss. I remember going to his house in Cape Town and many years ago he showed me his work room. He had everything on computers even then. This was before the technology was readily available and he showed me how he was going to monitor things and study each player’s performance. He was one of the first to really work on the reverse-sweep shot; he probably worked at it too much. He taught people to go back when they were playing it rather than go forward to give batsmen more room to play and he developed a lot of that.”

“In the same sort of way he too was an allrounder. He could be a batting coach and a bowling coach. Like Jacques Kallis, if you replace him with a batsman, the bowling side is weak, and if you replace him with a bowler, the batting side is weak. Bob had that allround ability as a coach, and that comes with the way I coach as well,” said Jonty Rhodes about his coaching abilities.

If you read his book ‘Art and Science of Cricket’ then you will come to know how he observed and studied the game. Thankfully, I have this book and the more I read it, the more I get amazed. The more my respect increases for this man.

It’s hard to find such creative and adventurous characters these days. His passion for cricket was extreme. He gave his life to cricket and ultimately died for it. The world of cricket still misses Bob Woolmer.

Note: This article has been published on Sportskeeda on 18/03/2014 The world of cricket still misses Bob Woolmer  

Thank You

Faisal Caesar

Special talent like Umar Akmal must not fade away

People are talking a lot about Fawad Alam these days. In Pakistan, Fawad Alam is regarded highly. When you hear about any cricketing talents coming up from Pakistan, you tend to get more interested to know what sort of a talent is he as Pakistan is well known for unearthing exceptionally talented cricketers.

And for which, Fawad Alam too had been one everyone’s centre of attraction. But when given a chance in the national team, his performances had been pretty dull. His talents continued to shine in the domestic arena but whenever given a chance in the national squad, temperamentally, he proved fragile.

He didn’t lose hope but continued to polish his talents in Pakistan’s domestic arena. Years of toil in the domestic arena have made Fawad Alam more mature and temperamentally strong and finally, luck has smiled upon this man – two back to back solid performances in the recently concluded Asia Cup indicates how hard he has worked and at present, he is becoming a big contestant to claim a permanent place in the Pakistani middle-order especially in the longer formats.

But, as a Pakistan cricket fan, do you enjoy watching his batting? Yes, he has that capability to stabilize an innings. Yes, he injects composure in the batting line-up, but he fails to impress a Pakistani cricket fan with his lack of genuine Pakistani dash which has attracted cricket fans all over the world – he lacks that ravishing Pakistani style of stroke-making.

The Pakistani soil is fertile to unearth exceptional cricket talents which have left the world amazed. Pakistan is famous for producing fast bowling talents – fast, furious, unconventional, ruthless and match winners. But, amid those fast bowling maestros, Pakistan have also produced some exceptionally gifted batsmen over the years.

Over the years, Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad, Saeed Anwar, Inzamam ul-Haq and co have offered the world enough of titillations alongside Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. The likes of Zaheer Abbas, Saeed Anwar, Inzamam and Javed Miandad were stroke-makers of high quality. Their batting reflected a spark and blitzkrieg which was not like Viv Richards, Mathew Hayden or Adam Gilchrist; but it was Pakistan’s own style of aggression – their batting was impulsive.

In Umar Akmal, we can witness that impulsive batting style.

Umar Akmal burst onto the scene with a dazzling hundred in his first international match against Sri Lanka in the second ODI at Dambulla in 2009. In the same year, he took the cricketing world upside down with an eye-catching hundred in his debut Test match. On a difficult Dunedin track, where his teammates struggled to bat against Shane Bond and Daniel Vettori, Umar Akmal, was fearless and exhibited high-profile strokeplay.

Like a Miandad his footwork is lightening and like a Zaheer Abbas he can murder an attack with pristine timing. His impulsive batting is like caffeine – no chance for you to fall asleep.

You could have been obsessed with Afridi’s superhero like batting against India and Bangladesh. You must have been impressed by Fawad Alam’s efforts in the Asia Cup, but, how could you have not noticed Umar Akmal’s crisp batting display?

No one bothered to say anything about his inside-out dabs through the extra-cover region and late-cuts against the spinners or plundering the pace bowlers for boundaries and sixes were eye-popping. The beauty of Umar Akmal’s timing makes his batting more pleasing to watch and his counter-attacking ability is an asset for any team.

Shouldn’t Umar Akmal be a regular batsman in the Test team? How effective Umar Akmal would have been in the Test side? Shouldn’t Umar Akmal bat higher up the order? Shouldn’t he be batting at number three or four? Shouldn’t his counter-attacking ability be utilized in the most appropriate manner?

In Pakistan; fresh cricketers, naive and unrefined, twinkles with a flashing regularity, sparkle across our field of vision, shine, for a period, then suddenly evaporate and leave us wondering if it had been an illusion. Amazing talents just meet a terrible end to their glittering career either due to poor management, lack of correct guidance or due to filthy politics.

In my opinion, over the years, Umar Akmal has not been managed properly. The appointment of Zaheer Abbas as the batting consultant should be very encouraging for Pakistan especially for Umar Akmal. As because, both of them are stroke-makers of the same class and both of them share the same instincts – aggression.

Zaheer should guide Umar Akmal about how to convert those fifties into hundreds and those hundreds into even bigger scores. Umar Akmal’s hunger for runs is well known, but over the years, he just failed to organize his innings properly. Zaheer’s main task should be to teach Umar Akmal on how to organize his innings. Zaheer’s presence is sure to help Umar Akmal a lot.

The emergence of Fawad Alam is pretty encouraging for Pakistan as its fragile middle-order needs some solidity, but it needs some adventurous stroke-makers who can counter-attack as well. Surely, you don’t wish to enjoy a boring Pakistani batting order. An organized Umar Akmal at the top can provide enough of majestic flavours. A special talent like Umar Akmal must not fade away.

Note: This article has been published on Sportskeeda on 10/03/2014 http://www.sportskeeda.com/cricket/special-talent-umar-akmal-not-fade-away/ 

Thank You

Faisal Caesar

My pleasant memories of 2012 Asia Cup - A memorable meeting with superstars

So Bangladesh have ended their Asia Cup campaign in a gloomy manner. They would surely want to forget this disastrous campaign as soon as possible and move forward.

The Tigers had been a shadow of the last Asia Cup where they were a team to watch. From nowhere, they started to deliver one of the best performances and defeated teams like India and Sri Lanka to advance into the finals. But the final had been heart-breaking for Bangladesh. The Tigers lost the final by just two runs and left the nation in tears. But, overall, the last edition of the Asia Cup had been something to relish for every Bangladeshi – it gifted the Bangladeshis plenty of pleasant memories to relish.

But, apart from the Tigers’ staggering performances, the last edition of the Asia Cup had been a special one for me for some other reasons. It had gifted me some exclusive moments – moments which still gives me enough pleasure.

Through Facebook I met a very friendly person from Sri Lanka named Kanagasabapathy Arulmoly. I call him Arul. During the Asia Cup of 2012, Arul visited Dhaka for some official purposes. He was staying at Pan Pacific Sonargoan Hotel, Dhaka. On March 14, 2012, I planned to meet Arul. I came back home from my hospital, tired and exhausted, contacted Arul over mobile to ask when he will be available. Arul told me to meet him at 7 pm.

At 6 pm. I proceeded for Sonrgoan Hotel. It takes almost one hour to reach the Pan Pacific Sonargoan from my home which is in Mirpur as because one has to surpass a terrible traffic-jam to reach there. But when you are about to meet your dearest mate, such traffic-jams don’t bother at all. I didn’t wish to miss the cricketing conversation with Arul who himself has very a sound knowledge on the game and of course, I didn’t wish to miss his friendly banters as well. The guy is very humorous.

So, I reached the hotel at 7:15 pm. I discovered Arul at the hotel lunge. He greeted me with a hug and both of us sat in the Sonargoan lounge and started talking about cricket.

Just opposite to us, we both discovered that the lanky Indian legspinner Rahul Sharma was talking on mobile. Arul informed me that the teams participating in the Asia Cup were staying at the Pan Pacific Sonargoan Hotel. He asked me whether I wished to meet them or not. I replied if possible then why not. But frankly speaking, I didn’t take it seriously as I thought that it might not be possible – the security guys, players’ code conduct issues, their superstar-like-attitude etc, etc. might prevent us from meeting them as because we weren’t any officials but just mere fans.

Arul took me to dinner and as we both walked towards our dinner table, we discovered Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, the Pathan brothers and Praveen Kumar were having dinner and were engaged in a candid chat with each other. Arul and I sat on a table not far from the Indian players. Both mine and Arul’s eyes were searching for Sachin Tendulkar, Shahid Afridi, Kumar Sangakkara and Shakib Al Hasan in the food corner. But they weren’t available there.

While we were talking with each other, I saw Virat Kohli went out of his chair to collect desserts for him. Arul told me to go and request Kohli to have a snap with us. I greeted Kholi with a ‘Salaam’ but he was not in mood to talk with me. Neither was I greeted well by Gambhir.  I stepped back.

Then we discovered MS Dhoni, the Indian captain, in the food corner. He was wearing an ash T-shirt and faded blue jeans. Dhoni took a plate, had something to eat and sat alone. Both Arul and I were thinking why MS Dhoni didn’t sit with the Gambhir and co? Was something wrong? But, I guess, mine and Arul’s thinking was wrong. We were thinking negatively and in the twinkle of an eye we brushed away such negative thoughts from our minds. Cricket fans should always think positively.

We came across Pakistan’s highly talented batsman Azhar Ali. I requested him to have a snap with us with a ‘Salaam’ and Ali was very kind enough to accept my request. Then, Arul and I walked towards the pool side. According to Arul, we could discover players relaxing at the pool side.

On our way to the pool side we both discovered Younis Khan in front of the lift. I gave ‘Salaam’ to Younis Khan. He greeted me with a big smile and I requested him whether I can have a snap with him. He said, ‘sure’ and my friend took a snap of mine and Younis Khan. But sadly, Arul wasn’t able to take a snap of himself with Younis Khan as Younis Khan left as soon as the lift came. Sorry mate!

So, we moved to the pool side and discovered that Misbah-ul-Haq, Saeed Ajmal and Umar Gul were relaxing. I requested Misbah-ul-Haq for a snap with us and he agreed not in an encouraging manner. Arul and I had a snap with Misbah and then we proceeded towards Saeed Ajmal. But Ajmal was busy talking on mobile and we didn’t dare to disturb him.

We requested Umar Gul for a snap and Arul and I were greeted so warmly by him. Umar Gul allowed us to sit beside him to take snaps. Arul and I wished to talk a bit more with Gul but the security guys prevented us from doing such. Both Arul and I were highly satisfied with the friendly attitude of the Pakistani players.

We left the pool side and on our way to the dinner table we met Irfan Pathan. Pathan was like a giant for me. He was so tall! I greeted him with a ‘Salaam’ and requested him for a snap. He kept my request.

As we returned to our dinner table we found that Dhoni was still sitting alone on the table where Gambhir and co was sitting a few hours ago. I gathered courage and walked towards Dhoni to request him to have a snap with us. As soon as I went closer to Dhoni, Raina, who was sitting near to Dhoni, left the table in a pretty less-warmly manner. I didn’t care about Raina’s attitude, but conveyed ‘Salaam’ to Dhoni. Dhoni replied to my ‘Salaam.’ I asked, ‘Sir, may I have a snap with you?’ Doni said, ‘Yeah, sure!’

My dearest friend Arul took a snap and his first snap was muggy. He requested Dhoni to sit a bit longer so that he could take another snap. Dhoni said, ‘Okay’ with a smile. Arul’s next snap was even muggier. One of the members of the Indian team smiled and so did Dhoni. We both requested Dhoni to stay a big longer. Dhoni gave us time and Arul took another snap. The photo wasn’t clear enough but we decided not to request Dhoni further.

Dhoni left the scene saying, ‘Welcome’ in response to my ‘Thank You.’

He gave us almost 7 and half minutes and there wasn’t any superstar-like attitude from him. He knows how to treat a fan because he’s one of cricket’s humble students. Dhoni’s humbleness amazed both Arul and me. MS Dhoni won both of our hearts.

I returned home with a pleasant heart and kept thinking about how humble Dhoni is! He is not only a great player but as a person he is very good as well.

That evening had been one of the most abiding memories in my life. Meeting players from India and Pakistan have been something relishing and it would have been even more special for both of us if I could meet the Tigers and Arul could meet the Lankan Lions.

This year, I wished to meet the players again. But sadly, I couldn’t manage to do that. Perhaps, this year, I could have experienced another precious moment to relish throughout my life.

Note: This article has been published on Sportskeeda on 7/03/2014
http://www.sportskeeda.com/cricket/my-pleasant-memories-of-2012-asia-cup-a-memorable-meeting-with-superstars/


Thank You

Faisal Caesar