Aftab Ahmed was arguably one of the most exciting talents
ever to emerge from Bangladesh .
But sadly, his cricketing journey didn’t last longer. Bangladesh
cricket saw the end of another promising career in a sad manner.
The young talent from Chittagong
Aftab Ahmed was born in Chittagong
and it was because of his father’s influence he took cricket seriously. His
talent started to catch the attention of the selectors and during the Under-19
World Cup in 2002 the selectors were highly impressed with his confidence and
aggressive stroke-play.
Aftab was picked in Test squad in the following year against
England ,
despite failing to impress in the warm-up matches. His selection was not
welcomed by the local press and the little boy had to wait one more year to
play for Bangladesh .
Aftab’s dawn was just breaking.
Aftab was just playing his third one-day international at
the Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka . The Tigers were
defending a mere total of 146-run against the touring New
Zealand side. From that New
Zealand side, chasing such a total was
supposed to be a cakewalk, but suddenly a little man’s gentle medium-pace
bowling simply made the New Zealand
batting order to reel.
From 76 for 1, the Kiwis had slumped to 133 for 7. Among
those seven wickets, that little boy had grabbed five and each dismissal was
celebrated with a smile full of life – a silent local crowd had found something
to cheer. Even though his selection in the team was as a batsman, he caught
everyone’s attention with his bowling and since then, he bowled ten overs in
most of the matches he played in.
His batting was a celebration
The talent of Aftab dazzled more in limited-overs than Test
cricket. Very soon he established himself as one of the vital members of Bangladesh
cricket team. He was an aggressive stroke-maker and bulldozed the bowlers
with his bat mercilessly. He was happier on the front foot, but could shift his
balance on the back foot as well and execute the hook and pull shot with enough
confidence. He was able to drive, cut and loft with enough power and could
innovate when needed. Aftab’s batting was a celebration of sport.
But when the situation demanded, Aftab used to check his
attacking instincts and played the role of a sheet anchor. He was involved in
quite a few effective partnerships during his short limited-overs cricket
career which proved critical in scripting Bangladesh ’s
success. His batting became a symbol of courage and confidence in Bangladesh
cricket.
Sad end to a promising career
In 2008, Aftab and many of the national team players joined
the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) and were handed a ten-year ban by the
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). After playing in the ICL for one year, he quit
and made himself available for national team selection. But that confidence of
Aftab was lost. He was last seen to play for Bangladesh
in 2010 and since then, he became an unknown face.
Recently, Aftab announced his retirement from all forms of
the game. It’s pretty hard to accept the sad end of such a promising career at
the age of 29. But the fact is, yet another talent from Bangladesh
has failed to fulfill the expectations.
So far, many promising talents have emerged from Bangladesh
cricket, but sadly they didn’t last longer. Why such things happen remain a
moot question. The BCB must be smart enough in preserving such talents. They
need to act like a sensible guardian. We wish to see flowers blossom and not
fade away.
Note: This article has been published on Sportskeeda on 30/08/2014 http://www.sportskeeda.com/cricket/aftab-ahmed-sad-end-promising-career
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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