Dear Akram Khan,
Your contribution to Bangladesh cricket must be acknowledged without hesitation. Fitness, playing skills, you can be behind the current cricketers; But it does not diminish your extraordinary. You didn't get as many benefits as you do now, you didn't have time to make a living playing cricket, you were lagging behind in social status. If someone asked me about my job, I would hesitate to say, I play cricket. It is on the basis of your time that the country is now holding a multi-crore event like BPL.
A player's salary of Rs 35 lakh is also considered 'relatively inadequate'.
You played cricket out of love, many may have had to rely on some other profession for a living. Yet there was no lack of passion for the game. Your generation used to perform disappointingly against big teams. But I personally don’t agree to call them ‘shameful’.
If professional cricketers are not one-sided scenes in the game of amateurs, then where is the value of professionalism! Suppose Bangladesh went down to play cricket with Finland. If the batsmen do not blow up Finland in Bangladesh, the bowlers cannot knock down the batting order, but that will be the failure of Bangladesh. As much as Finland can play as a newcomer team, that is the achievement. We were once 'Finland' in terms of Australia or South Africa, you played in that team; As far as what you have shown, it is more than enough.
But ... did you give anything less?
When I hear your name, I think of that 6-run innings against the Netherlands. 23 years ago today, April 4, 1997. Harley had to say goodbye to the ICC Trophy in that match against the Netherlands; Who knows, maybe we would still have to take part in the ICC Trophy. There are not many instances in the history of cricket of how an innings affects the cricket culture of an entire nation. The target was 162 at the beginning, the target stood at 141 in 33 overs due to rain. There are 4 wickets in 15 runs to make that run. Maybe the responsibility of being a captain was too much.
In that match against the Netherlands, Minhazul formed two fifties partnerships with Abedin and Saiful Islam. Bangladesh won the match by 3 wickets. Rainy weather was the norm, so he resorted to procrastination to keep the match going until it rained. From a cricketing point of view, this behavior is disgusting, but there was full support from the supporters. Because, the raft of hope that you keep floating!
I have played in the ICC Trophy many times, never got so close to the '97 event. If he has resorted to a bit of 'cunning' to win a match there, it would be appropriate to call him 'heroism' and not 'crime'. In that match he played an innings of 68 runs from 92 balls. Only three of four, not six. No one will be disappointed to see this match just for fun, no doubt. But even though there was no beauty in that innings, did the spectators of that day think at all that this innings would shape the future?
May 31, 1999 The 29th match of the ICC World Cup. Who knew, the biggest event of the World Cup was waiting that day?
A team that had just crawled in international cricket lost to mighty Pakistan. Everyone remembers Khaled Mahmood in the match against Pakistan, because his all-round skill that day was worth seeing. Batting took 27 runs as well as 3 wickets in bowling, economy only 3.10. Return one by one to Afridi, Inzamam and Selim Malik. He also received the Machesera award. But Akram Khan, who went down to bat one-down, took the team's score to a respectable level by playing a brilliant innings of 42 runs, which may or may not have been forgotten by many. Of course, the victory of 62 runs that day brought victory to the country, thanks to which he may not suffer even if people forget about his contribution.
When Akram Khan was playing, football was the number one game in Bangladesh. In that situation, it is a matter of courage to choose cricket instead of football. He has always seemed like a brave cricketer from beginning to end. Remember, in the Test against South Africa, Makhaya Ntini was constantly bowling short, Akram Khan was hitting boundaries without calling. In the next Test, he batted with the chest guard, but Antini was not afraid.
There were a lot of technical errors in his batting, almost everyone was in the same stage in his time. Yet he has played with the strength of mind, now on the platform built in his struggle, the majestic Sarkar plays a periscope shot with the ball of the opposing bowler unhindered, Tamim Iqbal boldly comes out down the wicket and sends the ball to the gallery. Due to his physical constitution, he used to listen to ridicule from the opposing players, but he did not give up.
Like everyone else, he lost his form and was relieved of his captaincy. Still, he continued to play without losing faith, and happily accepted the leadership of the junior captain.
He has not shown any dazzling performance in international cricket, really. But now all those who play cricket, he was an idol, or players like Aminul Islam Bulbul. It is questionable whether the most popular cricketer of today gets as much love and respect as he did.
Akram Khan has remained on the board as an administrator even after leaving cricket. If Tamim Iqbal played badly, he would initially accuse Akram Khan of nepotism. It is a pity for such low-minded people. Tamim later responded to the criticism by becoming the country's top run-scorer in all three formats of cricket. Proved that family identity is not a matter of talent. If the allegations of nepotism were true, Nafis Iqbal might still be playing in the national team.
The work of an administrator is very difficult, there is a lot of work to be done. The popularity that Akram Khan had as a cricketer could not be maintained as an administrator; He is involved in the debate for various reasons. Yet he is still revered as the 'cricketer' Akram Khan.
When the boys take the bat 15-20 years from today, they will know that a cricketer named Akram Khan led Bangladesh to the World Cup by playing a single innings. In international cricket, the country's batsmen have run out of runs, but everything seems to be fading next to the innings of that 'unofficial' match that day.
And whatever it was, if we hadn't played that 68-run innings that day, maybe we would have been crawling in cricket. What is the source of a nation to be known in the world?
On April 4, 2020, after 23 years. Bangladesh cricket has come a long way in walking the path that Akram Khan started. Just as it is unjust to forget one's roots, it is also a crime to tarnish one's reputation or to look down on it. Bangladesh cricket must remember him; Whether his success in post-cricket life comes or not, this is the constant truth.
Thanks
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