After the ousting of a 15-yr authoritarian authorities, a wind of alternate is sweeping thru the sports activities sector as smartly. Indispensable changes have already happened for the length of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). Faruque Ahmed has taken over as the unique president, and quite loads of directors have resigned, paving the formulation for many new faces. The unique president has already promised to overhaul cricket within the country, hinting at certain changes across an excellent deal of sectors of the game. On the other hand, amidst all these assurances of alternate, one can no longer abet but surprise whether the fate of the prolonged-uncared for international cricket stadiums will in actual fact toughen.
All the plan thru the old authorities’s tenure, an initiative became once undertaken to have confidence a brand unique cricket stadium in Purbachal. This stadium became once to be named after the one within the near previous resigned dilapidated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and became once designed to resemble the shape of a boat. Following the appointment of the unique BCB president, the gentle for this stadium has been cancelled, and it has been confirmed that both its name and intention will undergo changes.
Whereas the building of a brand unique stadium is positively a certain pattern, severely with an stare in opposition to web hosting critical ICC tournaments within the slay, in vogue companies are a must. The initiative to have confidence the stadium is commendable, but over the last 15 years, international cricket in Bangladesh has remained largely confined to Mirpur and Chattogram. Even supposing suits have only within the near previous been held on the Sylhet Global Stadium, the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in Khulna has seen only a pair of suits. The Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogura and Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Narayanganj had been utterly uncared for by the BCB.
The reason for the absence of suits on the Shaheed Chandu Stadium is less about cricketing or infrastructural issues and more about political reasons. The stadium became once built for the length of the BNP authorities’s tenure. After web hosting suits for the length of the 2004 Under-19 World Cup, it became once granted international stadium space in 2006. On the other hand, following one Take a look at match and 5 One Day Internationals (ODIs), international cricket came to a end at this venue. Since then, it has only hosted home cricket suits.
It is miles rarely as if Bogura has disorders with accessibility, accommodation, or infrastructure. The city is barely 185 kilometres from Dhaka, with in vogue accommodations goal like Momo Inn and Lodge Naz Backyard on hand for international cricketers. Bogura can also be smartly associated to the greater Rajshahi-Rangpur home. Yet, the people of this home had been disadvantaged of the chance to explore international cricket for years. Absolutely, the newly restructured BCB must now flip its attention to this stadium.
One other stadium that has been left in neglect is the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah. Whereas Bogura is no longer lower than out of doorways of Dhaka, Fatullah is quite within arm’s reach. On the other hand, no test suits had been carried within the market since the 2015 match between Bangladesh and India. The 5,000-ability stadium started its drag in 2006 with an ODI between Bangladesh and Kenya. Because of waterlogging, all forms of suits had been suspended for the previous 9 years. The final international match held in Fatullah became once in 2016. It has hosted two Take a look at suits and ten ODIs.
Upon entering the stadium thru the gate on the Link Avenue, one is straight away met with piles of garbage. The canal between the Link Avenue and the stadium has grew to was into a dumping ground. There’s no longer this kind of thing as a cricket pitch, the ground is uneven, the digital scoreboard is broken, and the drainage machine is dysfunctional. The floodlights, press box, VIP gallery, and spectator stands are in a bad negate. The chairs are broken and scattered about. The out of doorways apply blueprint is in even worse situation, with rainwater and chemically execrable water from the DND Canal turning the negate into a swamp. All the plan thru the old authorities’s tenure, a venture became once initiated to renovate the stadium, with a price range allocation of Tk 250 crores to restore it to international requirements. It stays to be seen how quick the concerned authority can total this venture and restore the stadium to its dilapidated glory.
The subsequent stadium within the list to be mentioned has never in actual fact hosted international suits, even supposing it has hosted age-neighborhood international cricket. The A.H.M. Kamruzzaman Stadium in Rajshahi became once constructed in 2004 and has a ability of 15,000. It hosted three neighborhood stage suits for the length of the 2004 Under-19 Cricket World Cup and 4 suits for the length of the 2010 South Asian Video games. On the other hand, no plans to upgrade it to a paunchy-fledged international stadium have materialised.
Rajshahi is one among Bangladesh’s critical divisional cities, and the stadium is situated in its heart. Cherish Bogura, Rajshahi has no disorders with connectivity, and genuinely, its transport links are amongst the most attention-grabbing within the country. It also boasts international unprecedented accommodations. If the BCB wanted to, they would well indubitably snatch steps to upgrade the Kamruzzaman Stadium to international requirements. Rajshahi can also be one among the driest regions in Bangladesh, meaning suits held there for the length of the monsoon season are less more likely to be abandoned because of the rain.
The Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium (SANS) in Khulna is one other anecdote of mismanagement. This is the venue where Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes blueprint a anecdote partnership, and where Shakib Al Hasan finished the rare feat of scoring a century and taking 10 wickets in a Take a look at match. This can also be where Bangladesh handed out the West Indies one among their heaviest ever defeats in their ODI history. No topic being regarded as 1 among the most attention-grabbing Take a look at venues in Bangladesh, no international suits had been held at Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium since 2016. The stadium now seems to be fancy it’s a long way on existence pork up, looking ahead to its final breath.
Having witnessed one of the most historic moments in Bangladesh cricket, the lifetime of SANS as a world venue has been minimize tragically short, web hosting only 12 men’s international suits and one ladies’s international match between 2006 and 2016. Positioned within the Mujgunni blueprint subsequent to the Khulna-Jessore Motorway, SANS became once built on 13.80 acres of land at a price of Tk 15 crores, as one among 5 cricket stadiums constructed across the country to host the 2004 ICC Men’s Under-19 World Cup. Gaining ODI web hosting space in 2006, the stadium’s ability became once expanded from 15,000 to 20,000 in 2012 earlier than it became once permitted as a Take a look at venue. Yet, cricket fans in Khulna can scarcely endure in mind the final time a world match became once held there, nor invent they withhold grand hope of seeing one within the shut to future.
If the BCB in actual fact intends to toughen cricket in Bangladesh, it must prioritise the revival of the present venues. Day after day, these once-proud international stadiums dwell abandoned, as if no one is to blame for them. Fairly than focusing entirely on building unique stadiums, it’s a long way imperative to restore individuals who find themselves in disrepair. To truly unfold international cricket across the country, suits must return to these stadiums. Top quality stadiums are also crucial for organising inspiring cricketers in assorted regions. The BCB’s priorities are determined, but whether or not they act on them stays to be seen.
