A fantastic cricketer
I refer to Mr. Nikhil Ranjan Das's letter dated 12 March 2010 and regret to differ with what he wrote about a fantastic cricketer of this country who has recently failed to perform . Like Mr. Das, I have played cricket alongside many of our older national cricketers and watched cricket in Dhaka for nearly six decades.
Cricket in Bangladesh is no more, what it was even a decade back. Cricketers of recent times have become human machines that go through a gruelling training from daybreak to night. Cricket is what they have to breath, sleep and dream about to be in the highest level of the game.
One Ashraful or Rokibul should not make or break a fast improving cricket team, which may be the weakest Test team of the cricket world. I have always written in your daily that we have to learn to love our country first. “Desh Prem” must come before “Vakti Prem” which can be followed by our love for the party we support and not the other way around.
Similarly, we have to rise above individuals in our sports fields without taking away anything from the best performers when they are at their best. Unlike a decade ago, when century makers were limited to a name or two we have now a number of century makers in the team who have done the country proud. I fully appreciate Mr. Das's sentiment I perhaps had the same feelings. But time has changed. A perfectionist like Tiger Wood agrees that luck plays 90% at the highest level of any sports and games in modern times.
A bad patch is always there in the life of a cricketer but this should be a consideration if others are breathing over your shoulders to replace you. Neither the team nor the cricket mad nation would like to take any chances with 'may be' but take what best our team can offer the nation at the time it is put to test.
Therefore, we have to think beyond individuals and build our cricket team. We have to allow the talents that are bursting to perform at the highest level a chance so that they too can contribute, as did Ashraful in his best days. My only worry now, as has been for many years, is the honesty, fairness and favouritism of our selectors.
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