Readers’ Forum

Deserving, not surprising

Excellence performance it was — more than what ace cricketer Shakib Al Hasan told the press before start of the series, on which Bangladesh won their first one-day international match against Pakistan on Friday – first in 15 years and six months followed by another on Sunday to annex the series, sending the jubilation all over the country.
However, on several occasions in the past, Bangladesh reached close to beating Pakistan. Unfortunately, they missed the execution finally.
I heard a cricket fan to say that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had sent an inexperienced side to Bangladesh for revenues only. There is no doubt that Pakistan will return with a large booties irrespective of performance.
Nowadays revenues, not the real performances, are the determining factor in some key sports like soccer, wrestling, boxing, cricket and basketball through out the world. We saw Australia, England and India to try to propel the proceedings of the World Cup Cricket concluded in the Oceania continent on March 29.
The result of the series has also exposed it to the world that the predecessors of the current management of the PCB did maximum injustice to our cricketers till 1970. Not a single cricketer from the eastern part of former Pakistan was considered for the national team. Rather I can say if a joint team is constituted right now, there will be nine players from Bangladesh and at best only two from what is now Pakistan.
Hosts Bangladesh have already won the series, taking unassailable 2-0 lead, and now hoping white-wash to open a new chapter in the history of cricket. Series win against Pakistan is really important to match with the performance in the 11th World Cup Cricket. We believe that the waves, which are flowing in the heart of Bangladeshi cricketers won’t be stopped. Hat’s off to the Bangladeshi cricketers, team management, officials, fans and all those who always inspire our cricketers.
We also congratulate Pakistan players for their brave efforts to improve condition.
Ameer Hamzah
Dhaka.