I know an octogenarian whose wife died two years ago and most of his children have grown up and settled abroad. I see this person once or twice a week, and although it is often difficult to find topics of common interest to converse with him, I always try. However, the difficulties go away whenever cricket comes on TV. I love cricket, he loves cricket, and when we spend 20 to 30 minutes discussing the game, I think it makes both of our days a little more fulfilling.
So, is this what it means to have a cricket team? Allowing fans to enjoy their favorite sport, giving them a team they can root for, and connecting people based on a common interest are reasons enough to sponsor a sport on a national level. The reason cricket has become such a game in Bangladesh is because it does its job better than anything else. The national team and its sporadic successes have been one of the biggest “positive” national moments in the last two-three decades, giving us the confidence to expect more positive things from them as a nation.
For all the latest news, follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel. Going forward, the lack of trust from cricket fans will not be limited to the national team. Cricket business may suffer losses and this industry which has been growing for the last two decades may start shrinking. The way out is progressive thinking, transforming this top-down enterprise into a bottom-up enterprise.
But this is why cricket is the way it is in our country. The attention and expectation surrounding cricket has commercialized the game and elevated professionals to unprecedented levels of stardom. Shakib Al Hasan being the best all-rounder in the world is good for Bangladeshi cricket, but it is great for the brands he endorses. Money can be earned by having a cricket team and people watching that team. The broadcast fee alone, which is charged by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), applies to every level of cricket, at least in theory. Thousands of clubs and lakhs of young cricketers struggle to climb this peak. The closer they get to the top, the more glory awaits them. Cricket is an industry and in Bangladesh this industry is from top to bottom. It is a business and till recently it was doing well.
Like any other business, this structure only works if each of its components is functional and healthy. However, cricket is starting to look like a declining business in Bangladesh right now. Those in the know would probably say that none of this was unexpected, but as a top-to-bottom industry, it takes some disappointing cricket from the national team to get everyone’s attention.
Bangladesh’s defeat against Netherlands in the World Cup will not affect the game in our country, but it is making people ask questions. Trust in cricket has been lost in Bangladesh. Fans still like one or two cricketers; They may even fight each other over who is more deserving of the public’s praise, but very few trust the team to go out there and give it their all. This breach of trust probably started after the 2019 World Cup, but it certainly became stronger before this World Cup. The hope was that the team had isolated itself from all this noise, but as it turned out, that was not the case.
Going forward, the lack of trust from cricket fans will not be limited to the national team. Cricket business may suffer losses and this industry which has been growing for the last two decades may start shrinking. The way out is progressive thinking, transforming this top-down enterprise into a bottom-up enterprise. Investing in the grassroots, creating domestic leagues, giving domestic cricketers the means to pursue the game they love while maintaining a sustainable and acceptable standard of living – these things will help. But looking at the trends of Bangladeshi cricket, the reforms that will be implemented after this World Cup may be short-lived.
Long-term reforms take a long time to work and cricket as a business needs to bounce back even more quickly. A change in coaching staff, perhaps a new captain, a few notable retirements, and several new players later, Bangladeshi cricket will certainly look very different after this World Cup, but it is safe to say that it will not fundamentally change.
The thing is though, if the purpose of having a cricket team is to serve the fans, this gig will happen at some point. Fans have limited patience and cricket fans are being pushed dangerously close to the limit. But if the point is to keep the industry alive enough to ensure that this blow is never too seismic for those making big money from cricket, then we are in a lot of pain.
Azmin Azran is the editor of campus And rising stars On The Daily Star.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.
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