World T20: The politicians of Bangladesh deserve credit

Despite various doubts Bangladesh were able to organize the World T20 successfully

So, a fantastic cricket carnival has come to an end. Finally, Sri Lanka had broken the final hoodoo. The Lankans had lifted the trophy in style by beating the Indians at Mirpur and it was a grand exit for two of cricket’s finest willow-wielders, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene who will never be seen in in the T20 format at the international level anymore.

Overall, the World Twenty20 had been a fascinating tournament full of fantastic matches and great individual performances. Certainly, Bangladesh have organized this event successfully, but even last year it was quite unthinkable that Bangladesh would be able to organize this mega event in a sound manner.

Last year, Bangladesh had been in an absolute turmoil due to political chaos. Bomb blasts, torching of vehicles and fighting between the riot police and political activists were a day to day event. It was a complex situation. The whole nation was depressed.

Political instability threatened to disrupt the very fiber and fabric of this society. There had not been a single day when people didn’t suffer due to political unrests. The roads weren’t safe to travel and continuous strikes simply had made life difficult for the Bangladeshis.

The possibilities of the series against Sri Lanka, Asia Cup and World T20 looked thin as Bangladesh’s fragile political stability became a matter of concern for the ICC. There had been risks of shifting the venue from Bangladesh to somewhere else and as a result, Bangladesh’s prestige was at stake. Sense and sensibility from the political parties was much needed.

But, every fear, every doubt has been brushed away as Bangladesh hosted all the three events with utmost success. The participating teams played with the great spirit of the game and enjoyed utmost support from the local fans.

For more than three months, Bangladesh was not depressive. There was no ugly sound of bomb blasts, no torching of buses, no fighting between the political activists and riot police and this country was free from all sorts of political complexities and unrest. For almost three months, the whole country was gripped by cricket fever. The whole day and night cricket had been the only subject of conversation for the people of Bangladesh. It was a cricket carnival in Bangladesh.

Neither the Sri Lanka series, nor the Asia Cup nor the World Twenty20 had been a memorable one for the Bangladeshi cricket fans as the Tigers weren’t able to live up to the expectations. But no matter how much they were upset with the home team’s performance, their passion and love for this game has earned enough praises throughout the cricket world.

The participating teams in the Asia Cup and World Twenty20 had enjoyed warm support from the Bangladeshi cricket fans which indicates the cordial nature of the people of Bangladesh.

Staging a mega event like the World Twenty20 had been Bangladesh’s biggest challenge. Last year, the ICC officials were not happy with Bangladesh because of the improperly built stadiums and Bangladesh’s dream of hosting this event received a setback. No sooner had the ICC officials waved the green flag regarding the stadiums; Bangladesh’s political environment went crazy and the day to day complex situation created enough doubts over the World Twenty20.

Everything depended on how Bangladesh proceeds with the Sri Lanka series and Asia Cup. Both the events were staged successfully without any hassles and it earned the faith of the other teams that Bangladesh is safe to play cricket. The teams came to play in the World Twenty20, they played some fantastic cricket, they enjoyed Bangladesh and Bangladesh was able to prove a point to the world – what cricket means to the people of Bangladesh. It’s their life, it’s oxygen for them.

One must thank the politicians of Bangladesh for showing enough composure throughout the series against Sri Lanka, Asia Cup and World Twenty20. If sense and sensibility was much needed during these events, then without a doubt, the Bangladeshi politicians have been enough calm and composed and showed us all that they can be sensible enough when it matters the most.