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Cricket as nationalist obsession: ICCWorld Cup 2011 and Bangladesh as ahost nationKausik Bandyopadhyay aa Department of History , West Bengal State University , Kolkata ,IndiaPublished online: 22 Jan 2013.

To cite this article: Kausik Bandyopadhyay (2013) Cricket as nationalist obsession: ICC World Cup2011 and Bangladesh as a host nation, Sport in Society: Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics, 16:1,19-32, DOI: 10.1080/17430437.2012.762301

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Cricket as nationalist obsession: ICCWorld Cup 2011 and Bangladeshas a host nation

Kausik Bandyopadhyay*

Department of History, West Bengal State University, Kolkata, India

Bangladesh shares a common South Asian cricket culture with the subcontinental BigThrees – India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – in the new century. Moreover, cricket acts asa great leveller in Bangladeshi society ridden with political dissension and socio-communal tension. The performance of Bangladesh in the 2007 World Cup and itsimpact on the everyday life of Bangladesh constituted a critical juncture in thetransformation of cricket from a cultural passion to a nationalist obsession. In thecourse of the next four years, Bangladesh matured more as a cricketing nation, andcricket has become its only secular religion. While the country has not registered anynoticeable progress in sports in general, its performance in international cricket,especially in one-day cricket, improved much, albeit without consistency. This articleexamines the impact of this improvement upon the national culture of Bangladesh andconsequent changes in her cricket culture. The hosting of the 2011 World Cup providedan opportunity to the nation to showcase both its maturity and potential as a culturaldestination as well as a cricketing nation in terms of performance and culture. Thisarticle will try to show how Bangladesh rose up to the occasion to assert its identity atthe international stage despite the complex impact of the event on its polity, society andeconomy.

Introduction

Cricket in Bangladesh and Bangladeshi cricket are two different entities. The first is a

thriving, throbbing, vibrant passion with a people that only came into existence in 1947 as

part of East Pakistan following India’s bloody partition, and then became an independent

nation in 1971 following another bloody war. The second is a fledgling, wobbling, almost

pathetic fallacy that has invited criticism from the entire cricketing world. A few

pretensions here and there, but largely deception, that is Bangladeshi cricket. But if cricket

is just a sport, and is to be evaluated as just that, Bangladesh is where it is at. The nation

lived, breathed and slept football until some years back, but today, a politically and

socially divided set of people come together as one in the name of the game, even if the

team it supports does close to nothing in the international arena. Cricketers who would

struggle to make a reserve side in an English county are feted as national heroes, their

every move is followed and people wait for judgement day – the day Bangladesh as a

cricket-playing nation will rub shoulders with the best in the business.1

The above remark made by a young Indian cricket journalist just before World Cup

2007 reflected a common tendency to hold Bangladeshi cricket culture in high esteem

while bashing its actual cricketing standard quite unrealistically. Bangladesh definitely

lacked the consistency to make its presence strongly felt in international cricket, but that it

was gradually coming up as a performing nation (especially in the one-day game) was

proved beyond doubt in 2007. In that context, Bangladesh began to share a common South

q 2013 Taylor & Francis

*Email: kbanjee@yahoo.co.in

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Asian cricket culture with the subcontinental Big Threes – India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Moreover, cricket started acting as a great leveller in Bangladeshi society ridden with

political dissension and socio-communal tension. The state’s huge investment in cricket,

given the meagre economic resources Bangladesh possesses, clearly indicated that the

government began to look upon the game as something more than a mere sport: a political

instrument to generate electoral confidence, a cultural arena to flex nationalist muscle and

heighten international image, and an emotional tool to mobilize public opinion. Since the

World Cup in 2007, Bangladesh matured more as a cricketing nation, and cricket has

become its de facto national obsession. In the last few years, while the country has not

registered any noticeable progress in sports in general, its performance in international

cricket has improved much. This article examines the impact of this improvement upon the

national culture of Bangladesh and consequent changes in the country’s cricket culture.

The hosting of the 2011 World Cup provided an opportunity to the nation to showcase both

its maturity and potential as a cultural destination as well as a cricketing nation in terms of

performance and culture. The article will try to show how Bangladesh rose up to the

occasion to assert its identity at the international stage despite the critically uneven impact

of the event on its polity, society and economy. The passion with which Bangladeshis now

play, watch and read about cricket, to which I was an eyewitness during the 2011 Cricket

World Cup, too, points to the game’s universal popularity and mediatization in the

country. Moreover, the game’s rising importance as an emblem of nationalism within the

state and as a marker of national identity at the international arena is a point that requires

careful consideration. Bangladesh as a host nation of the World Cup has also showed that

its citizens have preferred the Indian/Pakistani brand of aggressive fandom to its Sri

Lankan counterpart of a mature sense of sportsmanship.

World Cup 2011: a secular national spectacle

According to Sufia M. Uddin: ‘Crucial to the success of nationalism is the construction of

a single sustainable national culture that bonds people together in a convincingly

“imagined community”. Traditions are created, intentionally sculpted to promote a

particular nationalism.’2 Invented traditions, argues Eric Hobsbawm, ‘are highly relevant

to that comparatively recent historical innovation, the “nation”, with its associated

phenomena: nationalism, the nation-state, national symbols, histories and the rest’.3 In

Bangladesh, the masses commemorate a number of such traditions represented through

certain secular occasions including 21 February, the Language Day or Martyrs’ Day;4 26

March, the Independence Day, and 16 December, the Victory Day;5 Pahela Baishakh, the

Bengali New Year celebrated in mid-April,6 thereby reinforcing and securing the basis of a

strong sustainable national culture. In this broader context, the ICC Cricket World Cup of

2011 could be seen as a grand cultural spectacle signifying the assertion of both

nationalism and secularism at the international stage. While the standard binary of

nationalism in Bangladesh in terms of juxtaposition between secular nationalism based on

Bengali identity and religious nationalism based on religious identity is slowly being

challenged by a third movement of fundamentalist Islam, the dichotomies and dissensions

in Bangladeshi polity and society get submerged under the rubric of one national cultural

idiom – cricket.

The experience of cricket culture in twenty-first century Bangladesh has established

the importance of the sport as a great leveller in society as the Bangladeshi cricketing

identity cuts across variegated political, social, economic, religious and professional

affiliations. Now, Cricket has the power to mobilize all sections of the people – from the

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subaltern to the elite. Mahfuz Anam, the editor of The Daily Star’s special World Cup

edition, put the matter in right perspective:

There are few things with a greater capacity to unite than sport as a leveller that trulytranscends all boundaries and commands unanimity across supporters irrespective of age, sex,race and religion. In sport, political boundaries are irrelevant, we are all united for thecommon good, which in this case is the success of the Bangladesh national cricket team.7

For Rezanur Rahman, cricket does no longer remain only a game, but an emblem of self-

confidence, honour and pride of the nation. Despite all sorts of differences and hurdles, it

has unified the country in a singular bond. That is why all Bangladeshis start praying

whenever their national team plays a match.8 In 2011, the World Cup assumed further

significance in view of Bangladesh being one of the host nations of the world’s greatest

cricket show. As Anam further noted on the eve of the Cup:

For Bangladesh it will be the debut in organising a sporting event of this magnitude. For anysport, the World Cup is the pinnacle of achievement and competition and for Bangladesh to bebestowed the honour of hosting such an event, it is imperative that we put our best possiblefaces forward to the watching world. Be it in terms of our hosting and hospitality, our game orthe showcasing of our culture/national identity, the stage is ours to perform.9

Saber Hossain Chowdhury, former president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and

one of the key contributors to Bangladesh cricket at the turn of the century, echoed a

similar opinion.10

In fact, Bangladesh has always remained a country to which the global media had

never afforded much time and space except for natural calamities or political anomalies.

While the vibrancy, energy, spirit and potential of the country remained mostly

unrecognized on account of the so-called ‘image deficit’, the World Cup provided her the

opportunity to ‘take a giant step forward in bringing about a qualitative change’.11

Chowdhury sounded very optimistic when he remarked just before the inauguration:

I really do hope that each of us, starting from highest offices to the common man in the street,will view the hosting of the World Cup not just as a sporting event but as a unique promotionand branding opportunity that can project Bangladesh at its very best and optimizeappropriately and accordingly.12

The country’s new found confidence as the host nation raised the expectations of the

cricket-loving public as well. A nation obsessed with cricket was now expecting their team

to perform well in the tournament. Thus, Bangladesh as a host nation, which staged both

the unveiling of the World Cup and the inauguration of the tournament, showed the

potential of cricket as a complementary tool of nation-building and state-building. The

very organization of the Cup therefore came to be seen as a political statement by the

national government to assert Bangladesh’s national identity at the global stage. In other

words, the state left no stone unturned to showcase the vast potential of Bangladesh in

front of the international public. At the same time, the government made serious efforts to

mobilize domestic public opinion in favour of the nation, alias the reigning government.

Thus, cricket became a political tool to project a better image of the government; that is to

say, cricket became a core element in the image building of the political establishment in

both the domestic and international spheres. To use Anam’s words:

To this end the government has been working ceaselessly over the last few months aided ablyby the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the recent facelift that the city has received owedmuch to their continued efforts. If ever, now is the time to commend them for theirachievements and trust that their endeavours will see us through a smooth and successfulmonth and a half on our 2011 national calendar.13

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While no definitive long-term planning could be detected in the organization of the World

Cup in Bangladesh, many short-term measures were taken to ensure a smooth and peaceful

run of the tournament in the country as well as to project a better image of the nation across

the globe.14 The branding and promotional programme of the BCB, the government and

the private sponsors included a wish campaign, boat race on the river Karnaphuli, a

countdown function with the unveiling of the trophy on 10 November 2010 midnight, a

road show with the slogan ‘Catch Bangladesh Catch’, the organization of unique school,

street and farmers’ cricket, special lighting arrangements in Dhaka, and the release of

coins, souvenirs and stamps.15 Particularly interesting in this context was the Channel

I-sponsored ‘Farmers’ Cricket World Cup’ at Charpuliamari, a remote village in

Mymensingh. A paddy field was turned into a cricket ground with sitting arrangements

made on the model of a stadium thanks to the untiring labour of the local people. The

match was held between two teams named Bangladesh and Australia in the evening under

floodlights. The match, won by Bangladesh, created unprecedented excitement in the

village and also across the television viewers in the country.16 At the same time, despite a

bit of delay, the cities of Dhaka and Chittagong underwent major beautification measures

by the respective city corporations. The whole city including the main roads was decorated

with welcoming colour festoons, banners, images of flowers and birds, and colourful

lightings on the road dividers. Several road islands and intersections of the city were

beautified stunningly by setting up posters and colourful portraits of Bangladeshi players.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police and the Home Ministry took up the responsibility to clear

the city of traffic jams during the Cup days, while public vehicles were painted anew to

prevent what may be arguably called sight pollution. The Bangladesh Tourism Board, on

the other hand, undertook a series of measures to promote Bangladesh as a desired natural

and cultural destination for the tourists across the world. However, the organization of the

event was neither an outcome of long-term planning nor a part of a broad development

discourse as is usually found in countries that host mega sports events like the FIFA World

Cup, Olympics or Commonwealth Games.17 Yet, it led to some tangible measures and

programmes at infrastructure building, urban development and tourism promotion. The

security matters also attracted the highest priority of the government.

In Dhaka, the city corporation decided to clear the city of hawkers and beggars to

create a favourable image of the country.18 Similarly, the roadside tea stalls were either

demolished or suspended for the time being until the end of the World Cup, thereby

causing problems for hundreds of small teashop owners. In Chittagong, the Chittagong

City Corporation installed the sculpture of the national team cricketers and the axed son of

Chittagong, Mashrafi Mortaza, at different points of the city.19 It also decided in a meeting

with the business groups and hawkers of the city to keep it free of hawkers for periods

between 9 and 15 February and 1 and 20 March 2011 for the sake of the World Cup.20 The

corporation, as in Dhaka, made arrangements to keep the city free of beggars. However, it

decided to give the beggars a daily allowance for the period of their exclusion from the

pavements.21

One of the key areas of development was the renovation of the stadiums where the

inauguration ceremony and the matches would be played. While Bangladesh was initially

supposed to host two matches of the World Cup, it was awarded six more matches

including two quarter-finals after the cancellation of those matches in Pakistan due to

security concerns. The government spent Tk 300 crore to renovate five venues –

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Zohur Ahmed

Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong, Fatullah Osmani Stadium in Narayangunj and Abu

Naser Stadium in Khulna.22 The last two were kept as backup venues, while Sher-e-Bangla

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and Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadiums were to host the eight matches. The

Bangabandhu National Stadium was chosen for the inauguration, and prepared by the

BCB to meet the highest standard of hosting such a big event. The Sher-e-Bangla National

Stadium, too, underwent huge renovation works worth Tk 79 crore. It donned a completely

new look, thanks to a radical change in both the interior and exterior of the stadium. Being

the proud home of Bangladesh Cricket since cricket had shifted from Bangabandhu

Stadium to this venue, it got state-of-the-art upgrades every time Bangladesh hosted

international cricket tournaments. The Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong,

on the other hand, received the World Cup matches quite unexpectedly, thanks to

vehement demonstrations, after which the prime minister instructed the BCB to take

initiatives to award some matches to the mutinous people of Chittagong.23 In order to host

the World Cup matches, the capacity of the stadium was increased to 20,000. Overall, the

stadium is ‘one of the most scenic’ venues in Bangladesh.24

The commercial domination of cricket in Bangladeshi life found the most eloquent

expression in television programmes and advertisements, thanks to corporate sponsorship

and commercial endorsements. As cricketers have become icons and role models for the

new generation in the country, they came to feature in most of the advertisements, while

cricket as a theme became one of the most dominant selling points in commercial

promotion on satellite television.25 In fact, the World Cup opened Bangladesh to the full

thrust of commoditization of cricket and its attendant culture. Grameen Phone organized a

jersey festival where the national team’s jersey for the Cup was selected in a tough

competition amongst several designers.26 Overall, the potential spurt in tourism, hotels,

local cuisine popularization, and sales of clothes, mementoes, handicrafts and other local

products could have a pump-up effect on the economy. Luxury hotels in Dhaka expected

hefty sales from the arrival of foreign spectators, cricketers and journalists.27 In the midst

of political intolerance and lack of professionalism, the World Cup provided the

opportunity to promote what is popularly known as cricket tourism, in which Bangladesh

is believed to have huge prospects. The Ministry of Commerce took the initiative in

collaboration with Catalyst and nine more fashion houses to produce, display and sell

quality souvenirs, mementoes and other products through a marketing programme-cum-

exhibition called Souvenir Products from Bangladesh.28 ESPN produced a promotional

documentary on Bangladesh in order to telecast it during the World Cup. Most

importantly, the World Cup show was expected to generate enormous sports sponsorship

pay-offs including corporate dividends in different forms.29 Beximco, the official sponsor

of the World Cup Bangladesh team, made a contract of Tk 3.5 crore with the BCB.30

The beginning of the World Cup coincided with the Language Day celebrations in the

country centering around 21 February. This made the occasion a truly grand secular

nationalist spectacle that became intertwined with the spirit of nationalism and secularism

as expressed through the legacy of the language movement. As Sheikh Saifur Rahman

nicely put it: ‘Cricket has become a symbol of national integrity and patriotism to us

because it is only this game that represents the image of a bright Bangladesh effacing the

darker depiction of the country.’31 As a co-host of the World Cup, Bangladesh had a

wonderful opportunity to demonstrate that it could match any country when it came to

hospitality and friendly warmth. One editorial on the day following the opening ceremony

wrote:

We hope the guests will like this lush green delta that has for centuries been known as anabode of peace-loving people. Let the World Cup further brighten our image. Let cricketpromote friendship and understanding among the participating countries.32

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The inauguration ceremony held on 17 February 2011 was the long-desired moment for

Bangladesh to showcase her national culture in front of the global audience.33 An

explosive festival of colour, music, dance and unceasing noise signalled the start of the

World Cup at Bangabandhu Stadium in the evening.34 In short, the inauguration of the

World Cup was an event of a magnitude not seen in the short history of Bangladesh,

making the night an unforgettable one to remember for the entire nation. With a grand

opening, the country was expected to utilize the precious opportunity for branding

Bangladesh differently for over a month when Dhaka and Chittagong in particular would

be under the global spotlight. The successful opening also envisaged a potential boom in

the tourism sector of the country. What stood out amongst all this in ‘the show of epic

proportions’ was the ‘intensity of emotions’ as the Indian media hailed it. As the Indian

Express wrote, the Bangabandhu National Stadium witnessed a ‘show of epic proportions

that many locals truly believe is the biggest thing to have happened to the country since

gaining independence in 1971’.35 Thus, the opening ceremony was a successful step for

Bangladesh, otherwise known for its devastating floods and cyclones, to rebrand its

image in the eyes of the global public. A successful completion of the event, it was

believed, would have ‘greater upbeat effects on revenue generation, infrastructure, and

long-term effects on tourism and economic activity through media spotlight and return

visits’.36

The Cup fever: cricket as everyday life

The cricket fever that gripped Bangladesh in the wake of the World Cup was incredible

and amazing. Unlike on earlier occasions, the 2011 World Cup began with the

Bangladeshi people being imbued with high hopes about the performance of their national

team. In the course of the last few years, the so-called minnow’s sense of inferiority gave

way to a sense of pride and confidence in ‘our’ players’ ability to deliver for the country.

People from all walks of life, irrespective of age, gender, class or creed, were expecting a

smooth progress of their national team to the quarter-final, a possible semi-final berth and

not-too-impossible appearance in the final. As noted by a cricket correspondent:

The cricket craze can be attributed to the recent successes of the Tigers. They are no longer theminnows of international cricket, rather giant killers who are now becoming giantsthemselves. It is not surprising that the local fans are looking forward to a berth for the Tigersin the quarter finals at the least.37

Shakib-al-Hasan, captain of the Bangladesh national team, sought wholehearted support

from his countrymen in situations of both win and defeat, assuring them to try to perform

their best in the World Cup.38

The World Cup also became the greatest occasion for the Bangladeshis to show their

prowess as cricket fanatics. In the course of only three decades, cricket, once regarded as a

distant second to football in terms of popularity, became a national obsession. It has the

ability to arouse passion, stir emotion and evoke debate; in other words, it thrives on

spontaneity. As Golam Sarwar, editor of Somokal, argued:

Tension and anomalies of politics are increasing our anxiety day by day. Can we not be able tosidetrack this daily conflict-generating and self-serving politics to concentrate on, and chimewith, the spirit of cricket? Cricket would surely heal our everyday forms of desperation andfrustration. Let us forget the toils of daily life and join the sea of joy of World Cup cricket.39

The build-up to the World Cup matches was marked by sheer craze across the country.

Maswood Alam Khan narrates the situation nicely:

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Only a fan can understand the importance of cricket in his or her life. If truth be told, crickethas become a kind of a religion in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi cricket fans are so much involvedin the game that many of them have already availed leave from their workplaces to watch thecricket event. Many Bangladeshis have deferred many of their decisions to focus on cricket.One relation of mine has deferred his visit to America and father of a friend of mine hasdeferred very urgent surgical operation in his eyes – only to enjoy the World Cup cricketwithout hassles.40

In fact, Dhaka and Chittagong became festival cities on the occasion of the World

Cup.41 The impact of cricket could be seen even in the remotest of villages where kids

were found playing with whatever they could gather as equipment – bamboo sticks,

coconut and ropes bound with a small piece of cloth into a ball.42 There were a number

of instances preceding the tournament bearing ample testimony to this trend. People had

queued up one or two days before the ticket sale actually began in Dhaka and

Chittagong. There were many who, despite waiting in the queue for two days, had to

come back empty handed. A lady was compelled to stand in line for her desperately

persevering son and daughter, who went on a hunger strike to press home their demand

for World Cup tickets.43 Even the great Bangladeshi writer Humayun Ahmed dedicated

his autobiographical work Fountain Pen to Bangladesh cricket captain Shakib-al-

Hasan.44 With the World Cup only days away, the cricket lovers in Dhaka were out to

buy dresses made with the twin colour clothes to match with the national flag and jersey

of the national team, in celebration of the mega event. On the eve of the inauguration,

the shops around the Bangabandhu Stadium put on the red-and-green hue – giving the

entire surrounding a festive look. Most of the garment shops in the city could boast of

the national cricket team jerseys, caps, T-shirts, fatuas, armbands, stickers and many

more things displaying the Bangladeshi flag.45 Fashion houses and boutiques too tried to

earn maximum profit by making specially designed garments and accessories on the

occasion.46 Finally, a huge cricket bat (length 71 ft, breadth 4 ft and height 10 ft) was

made to wish goodwill to the Bangladesh team by a signature campaign. Starting its

journey from Dhaka, it visited all the districts to come back to the capital where it was

displayed at places where thousands of fans put their signatures on it.47 Hence, as the

tournament would get under way, Bangladeshi people were expected to impress the

cricketing world with their unmatched nationalist passion and fandom:

Cricket, or to be precise our national team, now is a beautiful baby that everybody caresfor, caresses, whose every step is followed with affection. This World Cup provides anideal platform for Bangladesh to showcase their unbridled passion and love for the game.And as a hospitable nation that hardly needs an occasion to celebrate, we invite thecricket world to come and join the festivity. We can proudly claim we are cricketfanatics.48

The inaugural match between Bangladesh and India was reminiscent of their last World

Cup encounter four years back. The evening before the day of Bangladesh–India match,

thousands of cricket lovers were seen on the roads expressing their jubilation by chanting

slogans, beating drums, playing vuvuzela-like large flutes and taking photos standing in

front of the dummy players on the streets.49 Similarly, as the Daily Sun reported,

‘thousands of fans from all walks of life and ages irrespective of gender gathered in

different parts of the city, particularly in the vicinity of Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National

Stadium, on Friday night’. It further added:

Most of them wore jerseys of Bangladesh team. The enthusiastic fans also set off tremendousfireworks. They spent the whole night chanting inspirational slogans like ‘sabas Bangladesh’for the Tigers, dancing and singing with great enthusiasm and excitement. . . . A huge number

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of rallies were also brought out on different city streets wishing good luck to the Bangladeshteam where people of all ages took part spontaneously.50

On the match day, roads and markets took a desolate look, and restaurants and

commercial establishments looked vacant across the country, while the attendance in the

great February Book Fair in Dhaka was seriously affected. The attendance shrank on the

inaugural day as well as on the match days, particularly on the days of Bangladesh’s

matches.51 In fact, cricket accessories, such as miniature bats, balls and T-shirts were

found selling outside the fair venue.52 Bangladesh team’s jerseys, armbands and flags

could be seen selling everywhere. Most of the people were seen wearing the red-and-

green T-shirts or painting their faces in the same colour or using a red-and-green

forehead or wristband to mark their solidarity with the nation. The Dhaka City

Corporation took an initiative to telecast live all World Cup matches on big screens

through projectors at different places in the capital. En route to the stadium at Mirpur,

huge national flags could be seen to be hanging from the roofs of almost every house.

Not a single hawker could be found on either side of the impressively clean roads, and

the dividers too were colourfully decorated with flags and festoons. The streets around

the stadium took on a festive mode. The phone–fax shops began selling jerseys, and day

labourers were seen selling flags of the participating nations. Among the merchandise

being sold, the one that caught everyone’s attention was the Bangladeshi version of the

vuvuzela.53 The big action, however, lay at the Dhaka University, with at least four big

screens installed in and around the Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) area, where students as

well as common people began assembling from early afternoon.54 Many people also

gathered in front of electronic goods shops in different city markets to catch the live

action. Another noticeable aspect of cricket fever was a marked rise in the participation

of women as spectators, be it in the ground or in front of the giant screens, which added a

new dimension to the country’s cricket culture. Despite such passionate involvement,

Bangladesh was defeated convincingly by India. As a result, joy turned into despair for

the masses. The frustration was visible all over the gallery in the stadium, and it wore a

gloomy look. All of Bangladesh’s group league matches saw the same kind of

excitement and emotions on the part of the Bangladeshi fans, although the nation did not

reach the quarter-finals despite raising a lot of hope after beating England on 11 March.

While Bangladesh’s hard-earned victory against Ireland, England and the Netherlands

brought unbounded joy, its meek surrender against the West Indies and South Africa

generated widespread frustration and dejection.

Thus, with the 2011 World Cup, cricket craze has become an integral part of everyday

life of the nation. According to Muntassir Mamoon, this craze would continue in the long

run as cricket has become a long-term factor in public life in every nook and corner of the

country. For him, in a poverty-stricken hopeless state of affairs, common Bangladeshis

look forward to escape from their daily ailments in life and find solace in the success of

cricket.55 While there were many voices before and during the Cup to create the awareness

among the cricket-crazy Bangladeshis about the importance of the spirit of sportsmanship,

urging the acceptance of success and failure in the same spirit,56 Bangladeshi fans tended

to become prey to the ‘Indian syndrome’ of over-the-top behaviour. Thus, Bangladesh’s

progress as a cricketing nation, especially in the one-day format of the game, which has

been phenomenal in the last decade or so, implies its rising status not only in the realm of

cricketing prowess or performance but more so in terms of cricket culture and fandom. The

transition of cricket spectatorship and fanfare that began in 2007 reached culmination in

2011.

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Joy and pathos: impact of Bangladesh’s performance

Bangladesh’s performance in the 2011 World Cup was one of the ups and downs, raising

huge expectations at one time and falling like a house of cards beyond belief at another.

While the dejection in the wake of defeat against India was somewhat arrested after the

victory over Ireland on 25 February, the devastating defeat against West Indies, thanks to

an amazing batting collapse, brought the Bangladeshi fans on to the soil of stark reality. It

was perhaps one of the lowest moments in the history of Bangladesh cricket, as captain

Shakib himself seemed to have confessed at the press conference following the game.57

The fans, however, reacted spontaneously. As Bangladeshi batsmen got out one by one,

angry spectators threw water bottles into the ground. After the match, the West Indian

team bus was attacked. It was said that the West Indies cricket team fell victim to a case of

mistaken identity amidst widespread frustration when their team bus was hit by rocks and

stones outside the stadium at Mirpur by fans who thought that it was carrying the

Bangladeshi side. Although no players were injured, it was a matter of grave concern for

the BCB as well as the Bangladeshi public. The angry mob also set tyres alight and papers

at the same spot and hurled stones at the fire brigade who came to douse the flames.58 More

alarmingly, a few dejected fans attacked Shakib’s residence at Magura, leaving a

windowpane broken. Police had to be deployed to ensure the security and safety of the

captain’s family and residence.

The defeat against West Indies forced Bangladesh to go for a do-or-die match against

England in Chittagong on 11 March. Despite the anxiety of an early exit from the

competition in case of another defeat, the people of Chittagong showed immense

enthusiasm to cheer for their coveted team and inspire the players to gain what was

looking to many ‘an unlikely victory’. The whole city donned the colour of red and green,

with flags, banners, festoons and jerseys shining everywhere. A group of children met

Shakib and his colleagues to wish them good luck with a bunch of flowers before the

match day.59 And the luck came back to Bangladesh as it pulled up an unlikely victory

after a tense encounter with the Englishmen. Tens of thousands of cricket fans across the

country came out of their houses on to the street to celebrate this mighty victory, bursting

crackers and playing with coloured water. The fans, carrying national flags, brought out

victory processions and chanted ‘Bangladesh, Bangladesh’.60 After the match, as the fans

aspired to take a look at the heroes of their national victory outside the stadium, they were

involved in an altercation with the police.61 In fact, about 20,000 people gathered near the

team hotel to felicitate the Tigers. There the security forces found it hard to clear the roads,

and ‘it resulted in the whole city getting caught in gridlocks as the players remained in the

stadium’.62 It was only around 1.30 am that the roads were finally cleared and the two team

buses could return to the hotel amidst packed security. This proved beyond doubt that the

Bangladeshi masses began to adopt the Indian brand of over-the-top behaviour in their

approach to cricket. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former president

Ershad congratulated the team on achieving such a great victory.63 More importantly, the

Bangladesh victory over England drew comparison with the famous Chittagong armoury

raid under the leadership of Surya Sen in colonial Bengal in 1930.64 It was argued that the

Bangladeshi players took the roles of Surya Sen and his comrades in this new raid upon

England in the same Chittagong.65

The victory of Bangladesh against the Netherlands in the next match was expected.

Still the fanfare did not show any signs of abatement. Regardless of complacency that

might have crept into the hearts of many fans, ‘the cheering never stopped; not for the

beating sun, not for the oppressive heat and not even for the sweltering humidity’.66

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Unfortunately, Bangladesh’s roller-coaster journey ended in an ignominious fashion as it

suffered a massive 206-run defeat in their final group match against South Africa.

Everyone expected another dogged fight from the Tigers, but their meek surrender was

only a pale replica of their performance against West Indies. Shakil Kasem wrote in

despair:

Another bubble burst again, the resounding crash as loud as the one heard when the stockmarket collapsed. . . . By piling unwarranted expectations on themselves, the general publicput themselves on board for a ride which transpired to be the biggest scam of them all.67

The dream of every Bangladeshi of reaching the quarter-final was thus shattered. The

reaction of the defeat could be found in deathly silence all over the country. The roads

became desolate, while the people became dumb in shame. Shakib lamented after the

match that ‘we could not carry the burden of huge expectations. We failed to honour

the confidence Bangladeshi fans placed upon us’.68 He also expressed his apology to the

people of Bangladesh. Experts and commentators on the talk shows on the TV channels

strongly criticized not only the lack of consistency, temperament and commitment of the

Bangladesh side but also the flawed policy of the selectors and the coach.69 The BCB

seemed to go for a thorough review of the national team’s performance immediately to

find out the reasons for Bangladesh’s debacle or to fix the responsibility for such a

shameful exit of Bangladesh from the Cup. Bangladesh had to look for remedies, and be

positive to achieve a better future:

This is the time to wipe the slate clean, think afresh, employ minds and bodies who areknowledgeable and committed and willing to take pride in doing and achieving. We havetravelled far too long down the road to be considered as Clown Princes of the game any more.There is a World Cup in four years time. Today is the time we start thinking about it, yesterdaywas the time we should have started working towards it. Tomorrow will be just too late.70

Going beyond this cricketing assessment of Bangladesh’s failure to deliver the expected, it

may be argued, the sense of frustration lying beneath the apparent appreciation and

recognition of the game as a national bond has begun to come out on the surface with the

maturity of Bangladesh as a cricketing nation. The more it would become mature and

stronger as a cricketing power, the greater would be the intensity of its fandom, which

seems to have chosen the Indian and Pakistani brand of aggressive cricket culture rather

than the Sri Lankan variety characterized by a mature sense of proportion.

Postscript

Bangladeshi society is often shown to be divided between the secularists on the one hand

and the religious Right and fundamentalists on the other, leading to what one scholar has

called ‘competing imaginings of nationhood’.71 Accordingly, she sees ‘in an examination

of invented traditions, commemorations, interpretations of particular events, and the

intentionality behind the commemoration of a specific combination of events’ ‘the

struggle between religious nationalists and secularists’.72 A further challenge to this

apparent binary of nationhood comes from the marginalized voices of the non-Bengali

Bangladeshis, who represent another competing vision of cultural pluralism, urging the

state to recognize their identities and expressions.73 However, despite this so-called

‘fragility of nationalism’, strengthening the fact that ‘a community can be imagined in a

number of ways by the very nature of being imagined’,74 such very ways can

contradictorily reinforce the homogeneity of nationalism. In twenty-first-century

Bangladesh, particularly in the aftermath of the hosting of the ICC World Cup in 2011,

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cricket has asserted its status as one such way of imagining a secular homogeneous

nationalist identity. It also challenges the notion that the multiple imaginings of the nation

in Bangladesh are ‘constrained by the dominant cultures within which they are created and

communicated; one is the universal (Islam), and the other is the local (Bengal)’.75 Cricket

as a nationalist obsession transcends everything in Bangladesh, binding all in one knot

from a rickshaw puller to the prime minister, from a fundamentalist mullah to a

westernized IT professional, from a poor farmer’s wife to a high society lady or from a

Hindu priest to a disgruntled Chakma. More importantly, cricket educates the Bangladeshi

youth about nationalist ideology and instills in them a deep emotional attachment towards

the nation thus imagined. Performing well or not, nationalism around cricket is not fragile

as the other ‘invented traditions’ are argued to be, since it cuts across affiliations of race,

religion, community or ethnicity. The religious fundamentalists and their lay followers,

who do not agree with the idea of nationalist ideology, too, seem to have succumbed to the

all-pervasive wave of cricketing nationalism in the wake of the World Cup. The impact of

globalization and transnational bonds makes this cricketing nationalism more stable and

viable. Cricket thus redefines and rekindles Bangladeshi nationalism. Beyond the political

rhetoric of struggle over the question of religious versus ethnolinguistic identity, cricket

now provides a space where Bangladesh as a homogeneous nation makes its presence felt

globally.

Notes1 Dasgupta, ‘Bangladesh Cricket’, 162.2 Uddin, Constructing Bangladesh, 122.3 Hobsbawm and Ranger, eds. The Invention of Tradition, 13.4 When the Pakistani government declared Urdu as the official state language of Pakistan,

completely rejecting the demands of the Bengalis of East Pakistan to recognize Bengali as one ofthe state languages, political leaders and activists of East Pakistan declared 21 February as thestate language day. As the central government banned all processions and demonstrations on thatday, the Dhaka University students and many others, defying the order, led demonstrations andparticipated in processions, resulting in violent clashes with police and military forces, whichkilled and injured several students and other Bengali agitators. Two days later, a memorialcolumn was erected at the site of the killing near Dhaka Medical College. The people ofBangladesh subsequently came to celebrate 21 February – Ekushe (twenty-first) – both asLanguage Day and Martyrs’ Day. After Bangladesh gained independence, the commemoration ofthe day has become representative of a Bangladeshi secular identity.

5 When Pakistani police and military forces began their brutal genocide in the night of 25 March1971, Bangladesh was declared to be a free nation on 26 March, and the Bengalis en masseparticipated in an armed liberation struggle joining the Muktibahini (liberation forces). However,as war broke out in East Pakistan in March 1971, India gradually became involved in the conflictand effected full-scale military intervention in early December, resulting in the surrender of thePakistani army to the Muktibahini on 16 December and enabling a victory for Bangladesh. OnceBangladesh became independent, 26 March and 16 December came to be celebrated asIndependence Day and Victory Day, respectively. Both the occasions, celebrated with typicalBengali cultural programmes every year, provide to Bangladeshi masses an opportunity forassertion of their secular national identity.

6 Pahela Baishakh is a secular holiday that became increasingly popular during the period ofPakistan rule as a symbol of resistance to what Bengalis regarded as a form of culturalimperialism. Celebrated with Bengali music and culture, this annual occasion again marks thesignificance of secular nationalist identity amongst the masses who participate in the occasionirrespective of their religious, social or professional affiliation.

7 Mahfuz Anam, ‘Editor’s Note’, Star Roar: World Cup Special, The Daily Star, February 2011, 1.8 Rezanur Rahman, ‘Cup Kintu Ektai, Seta Jitte Hobe’ [There is only one cup, we have to win it],Anando Alo (Dhaka), February 16, 2011, 15.

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9 Ibid.10 See Saber Hossain Chowdhury, ‘Reaching for the Stars’, Star Roar: World Cup Special, The

Daily Star, February 2011, 6–7.11 Ibid., 7. The non-resident Bangladeshis, or broadly speaking, Bangladeshi diaspora considered

the occasion to be the best opportunity for Bangladesh to build up its positive image, in front ofthe global public, thereby eradicating its negative images till date. For such opinions, see SuhelAhmed, ‘Probashider Biswacup Cricket Niye Bhabna’ [Ideas of the non-resident Bangladeshisabout the World Cup], Kriralok (Dhaka), Biswacup Album-1, February 2011, 86–8.

12 Chowdhury, ‘Reaching for the Stars’, 7.13 Anam, ‘Editor’s Note’.14 There were, however, occasional criticisms as to the lack of proper planning for the preparation of

the Dhaka city as well. As The New Nation noted: ‘many careful observers have not failed to notethat beautification and other activities designed to put up a pretty face of Dhaka on the occasion,were not up to the mark in some cases. . . . Everywhere the beautification works were done at theeleventh hour although they could be started long ago to give a truly aesthetic look to the city. Butresources were spent in a haste and an opportunity for a meaningful facelift of the city was halfutilized. . . . It is doubtful how much careful planning has gone into promoting Bangladesh’stourism prospects by arranging with different channel operators to carry publicity materials to thisend. Other activities also seem scanty or not at all to seize this opportunity to put up a good face ofBangladesh as a fine place to visit or invest’. The New Nation (Dhaka), February 18, 2011, 5.

15 For an excellent discussion on this, see Sayid Mohammad, ‘Prastut Bangladesh’ [ReadyBangladesh)] Krirajagat (Dhaka), February 16, 2011, 9–18. Also see ‘Biswacuper Janyo PrastutBangladesh’, Kriralok, Biswacup Album 1, 20 February 2011, 46. Also see ‘Aminul HaqMallick’, Canvas (Dhaka), February 2011, 66.

16 Daily Sun (Dhaka), February 18, 2011, 14.17 It was pointed out that despite being awarded the host status six years back, the organizers of the

World Cup in Bangladesh began its work only in 2010. Naturally therefore, things had to becompleted hectically and on an ad hoc basis. See, for details, Kamal Hosain Bablu, ‘BangladesherBiswacup Joy: Keno Noy!’ [Bangladesh’s World Cup victory: why not!], Kriralok, BiswacupAlbum-1, February 2011, 9. To give a concrete example, football coach Shafikul Islam Manikargued that the taxi drivers were not given any proper training to deal with the foreign visitorsduring the World Cup, thereby leaving a major area of concern to mess. Similarly, neither thegovernment nor the BCB tried to utilize the opportunity to build up a new venue or stadium thatwould have served the interests of the game in Bangladesh in the long run. In Manik’s opinion,many such opportunities were lost by the government that could have made a difference to thecountry in a long-term perspective. See ‘Hobei Hobe Joy’ [Victory will surely come], AnandoAlo, February 16, 2011, 42–3.

18 There were many who condemned this stop-gap action on the ground that it would createimmense hardship for the poor beggars in the winter. See Mohammad Arifuzzaman Tuhin,‘Bangladeshe Biswacup: Vikhkhukmukto Nagari’ [World Cup in Bangladesh: Beggar-free city],Sahasrabda (Dhaka), February–March 2011, 11–12.

19 Dainik Purbokon (Chittagong), February 9, 2011, 1 and 9.20 Ibid.21 Saptahik 2000 (Dhaka), February 18, 2011, 55.22 Anisur Rahman, ‘Tiger’s Den, Venue: Dhaka Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium’, Star

Roar: World Cup Special, The Daily Star, February 2011, 95. Also see ‘Biswacup Venu’ (WorldCup venues), Anyodin (Dhaka), February 2011, 57–58. Such lavish expenditure, it was noted aswell, put heavy pressure on the exchequer, and money had to be diverted from the funds allottedto other areas, for the purpose of the World Cup.

23 Anisur Rahman, ‘An Oasis, Venue: Chittagong Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium’, Star Roar:World Cup Special, The Daily Star, February 2011, 97.

24 Ibid.25 A classic advertisement showed a bride, who, while looking at mirror during shubhadristi (the

ritual of looking at the groom by the bride for the first time during marriage), finds Shakib-al-Hasan, the young dashing Bangladesh captain.

26 Sheikh Saifur Rahman, ‘Cricket: Japone, Udjapone’ [Cricket in life, in celebration], Canvas,February 2011, 73.

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27 The list includes Sonargaon, Sheraton, Radisson, the Westin, Purbani, Best Western La Vinci,Regency and Sarina.

28 Ibid., 73.29 Shah Husain Imam, ‘The Second Triumph’, The Daily Star (Dhaka), February 18, 2011, 14.30 Touhidul Islam, ‘Khelar Cheye Beshi Kichu’ (Something More Than the Game), Saptahik Kagoj,

February 20, 2011, 46.31 Rahman, ‘Cricket: Japone, Udjapone’, 73.32 Daily Sun, February 18, 2011, 4.33 For a brief but useful discussion on the preparation of the inauguration at the Bangabandhu

Stadium, see ‘Parda Othar Apekhhay Bangabandhu Stadium’ [Bangabandhu Stadium is waitingfor the curtain raiser], Anyodin, February 2011, 71–72.

34 As one newspaper correspondent nicely summed it up, ‘The sky of Dhaka was decorated withvibrant colours as a dazzling opening ceremony, showcasing the sub-continental traditions andculture and highlighting the vivacious heritage of Bangladesh marked the opening of the ICC-Cricket World Cup 2011’. Daily Sun, February 18, 2011, 1.

35 Indian Express (Kolkata), February 18, 2011, 1.36 The Daily Star, February 19, 2011.37 Daily Sun, February 18, 2011, 4.38 Prothom Alo (Internet edition) (Dhaka), February 16, 2011.39 Golam Sarwar, ‘Cricket er Janye Bhalobasa’ [Love for cricket], Somokal Chakka (Dhaka), ICC

World Cup Special Issue, 2011, 3; author’s translation.40 Maswood Alam Khan, ‘Enjoy Cricket, Derive Pleasures, and Manage Pains’, The Financial

Express (Dhaka), February 20, 2011, 4.41 Sampa Ghosh, a young college teacher from West Bengal of India, who visited various parts of

Bangladesh during the first few matches of Bangladesh, mentioned in her travel note that theexcitement and emotions were difficult to match even in Kolkata. The way cricket came todominate the life of the masses seemed amazing to her. Shampa Ghosh, ‘A Journey to Remember:Dhaka 2011’, Travel Note, March 2011.

42 Rahman, ‘Cricket Japone, Udjapone’, 72.43 Al-Amin, ‘The Passion Is Here to Stay’, Star Roar: World Cup Special, The Daily Star, February

2011, 14.44 ‘Biswacuper Janyo Prastut Bangladesh’, 12.45 The New Nation (Dhaka), February 18, 2011, 2.46 ‘Biswacup Aayojon’ [World Cup organization], Canvas, February 2011, 28.47 Anando Alo, February 16, 2011, 66.48 Al-Amin, ‘The Passion Is Here to Stay’, 15.49 The New Nation, February 20, 2011, 1–2.50 Daily Sun, February 20, 2011, 1, 23.51 The New Nation, February 19, 2011, 1–2; The Independent, February 20, 2011, 3.52 The Independent (Dhaka), February 19, 2011, 3.53 Ibid., 25.54 Amit Kumar Biswas, a freelancer, described the TSC on Bangladesh’s match day as ‘a stadium

outside the stadium’, where the rituals of passionate fanfare displayed in the stadium werereplicated in front of the giant screens. Amit Kumar Biswas, ‘Biswacup Cricket 2011 oBangladesh: Ekti Parjalochona’ [World Cup Cricket and Bangladesh: An evaluation], Emailcommunication, March 2011.

55 Interview with Muntassir Mamoon, Dhaka: February 19, 2011.56 Dibakar Acharya, ‘Jitte Sikhi, Harte Sikhi’ [Let’s learn to win and to be beaten], Saptahik Kagoj

(Dhaka), February 20, 2011, 37. The author described the aggressive reaction after defeat in amatch as typically Indian and urged the Bangladeshis not to emulate this culture, which onlyaffects the reputation of the nation.

57 The Daily Star (Internet edition), March 5, 2011.58 Ibid.59 Prothom Alo, March 11, 2011.60 The Independent (Internet edition), March 12, 2011.61 The Daily Star (Internet edition), March 13, 2011.62 Ibid.63 Dainik Janokantho (Dhaka) (Internet edition), March 12, 2011.

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64 Nirmalendu Gun, ‘Mar Ghuriye, Bangladesh’ [Turn and hit, Bangladesh], Prothom Alo (Internetedition), March 12, 2011.

65 Dainik Janokantho (Internet edition), March 12, 2011.66 The Daily Star (Internet edition), March 15, 2011.67 Shakil Kasem, ‘Mediocrity Rules, Ok’, The Daily Star (Internet edition), March 21, 2011.68 Shakib at the press conference after the match. Dainik Janokantho (Internet Edition), March 21,

2011; author’s translation.69 Ibid.70 Kasem, ‘Mediocrity Rules, Ok’.71 Uddin, Constructing Bangladesh, 142.72 Ibid., 145.73 For details on this, see Schendel, ‘Bengalis, Bangladeshis and Others’.74 For details on this, see Chatterjee, The Nation and Its Fragments.75 Uddin, Constructing Bangladesh, 151.

References

Chatterjee, Partha. The Nation and Its Fragments: Colonial and Postcolonial Histories. Princeton,NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993.

Dasgupta, Shamya. ‘Bangladesh Cricket: Scoring on Passion, but Little Else . . . ’. Sport in Society10, no. 1 (2007): 163–81.

Hobsbawm, Eric and Ranger, Terence, eds. The Invention of Tradition. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press, 1983.

Schendel, Willem van. ‘Bengalis, Bangladeshis and Others: Chakma Visions of a PluralistBangladesh’. In Bangladesh: Promise and Performance, ed. Rounaq Jahan. Dhaka: UniversityPress Limited, 2000.

Uddin, Sufia M. Constructing Bangladesh. Chappel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006.

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