Tiger Talk

“IS THAT ALL?”

The above phrase is perhaps most heard in restaurants. Once we are settled at our tables and have decided what we want to consume, the waiter takes our order and ends the conversation with the above phrase, to which we usually nod in affirmation.

Unfortunately, last night, the Bangladeshi fans all seemed to run a restaurant together. We gained nothing in return. All we did was give, all we did was support, all we did was HOPE.

It’s quite common in our culture to leave family and scatter around the world once past a certain age. With a change in geographical location, comes varying time zones, schedules and lifestyles. However, the one spectacle we are all ready to witness is Bangladesh playing cricket.

Extra cups of coffee, curtailed sleep cycles, excessive snacking habits and unhealthy emotional investment are all crucial ingredients in the recipe that makes a Bangladesh fan. In return, all we get is usually a foul aftertaste.

As my friend/brother in despair, Nabi Bhai aptly stated last night, being passionate about sports involves watching the team you love give it their all and aim to win. Losses are frustrating but the intensity of the pain is reduced when one knows that their team simply tried. That is all we ask for.

However, in our situation, that is unfortunately too much to ask for. We sincerely ask for forgiveness for hoping that our senior statesmen play with the same passion that a youngster like Tanzim or Rishad plays with. We sincerely ask for forgiveness for imagining that playing out 5 dot balls when the team required 3 runs a delivery was not the right ploy. We sincerely ask for forgiveness for thinking that our team is as hungry as us fans for success.

I do not mean to be ungrateful. The coach did say that the Super 8 round was a bonus. Who am I to demand more from the team that I so love and adore?

We have apologised. When will you?

MISFORTUNE AND SMALL MARGINS

This loss HURT. Many of us who watch Bangladesh’s matches regularly have become somewhat desensitised to disappointment.

However, there was something different about last night. We managed to use our seam bowling to paralyse batters who are used to facing the likes of Rabada and Nortje in the nets. We managed to be in a winning position with virtually no contribution from our top batters and ace all rounder. We managed to dream while we were awake.

Tawhid Hridoy has been a breath of fresh air for Bangladesh. Loyal fans have long awaited a youngster who takes responsibility and then accountability in case the job is left incomplete. Hridoy is exactly that. He speaks sense with the bat and beyond.

There is no denying that luck was not on our side. Two incredibly doubtful looking LBW’s given, one costing us the win and the other costing us a scene of triumph in Hridoy’s eyes.

However, inability to put away loose deliveries during crunch moments ultimately cost us the most.

One can hope that days of deflated performances are gone and days of seeing fire in the eyes of our youngsters such as Hridoy, Shoriful, T Sakib and Rishad are to follow.

But, today is not the day to think that far ahead into the future. Today, we stay upset and frustrated. Today, we hold onto our loved ones who are in disbelief as to why we are this affected by a cricket game. Today, we rest.

Onto the next one 🐅

Mehidy Hasan Miraz thought it was a great idea to send off a number 11 batter after a run out despite his team being on 500+.

I completely understand now why it is so difficult for neutral fans to root for Bangladesh at this point.

Not too long ago, Captain Shanto dissed Sri Lanka for doing the ‘timed-out’ celebration but then proceeded to do a similarly petty celebration after the ODI series.

That was all started off by 36 year old veteran Mushfiqur Rahim.

When will our team make the news for our cricketing abilities and not because these antics?

📸 Cricketangon

THE UNSUNG VICTORIANS:
JAKER AND MUSFIK

The Comilla Victorians have a rich history of featuring some of the biggest names in T20 cricket. This year has been no different with heavyweights such as Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Moeen Ali already wearing red and gold.

With the playing XI full of stalwarts, it’s sometimes easy to forget contributions from our local gems. The BPL’s primary objective is to find prospects for Bangladesh and the Victorians have certainly given us a few candidates.

Two stars who have stood out for me are Jaker Ali and Musfik Hasan. Jaker has been an underrated talent for a while now and he seems to have really come into his own this season. Coach Salahuddin has put him in all sorts of situations with different demands from him and Jaker has come out on top more often than not.

He seems to have the rare quality of understanding the tone of the game and play accordingly. The passion is clearly on display when he is on the pitch and there is a clear hunger to perform and impress. Definitely one for the near future.

On the other hand, Musfik Hasan is perhaps more raw but that is always entertaining to see in a young seamer. He has genuine pace and has succeeded in getting zip and carry even in Mirpur.

Today, he almost turned the game on its head with fantastic over conceding only one run and the valuable wicket of Mushfiqur Rahim.

Bangladeshi fans should keep a close eye on these two. Expecting improvement and growth from both of them. The red and green may not be too far away.

So good to see Samannoy bhaia collaborating with one of our favourite voices of sports, Mr Alan Wilkins!

Please feel free to post questions as instructed on the original post and do tune in!

Looking forward to it, Samannoy bhaia!🎙️

As Sir Viv Richards said that Alan’s one of the nicest guys he’s played against…

It was an honour to be able work alongside, do commentary and learn loads from the legend himself in the commbox in Essex!

Now, he’s humbly agreed to feature on my show ‘On the Mic with SG’ later tonight at 10:30pm (BST) to share his valuable take on the Bangladesh Cricket : The Tigers vs England Cricket match today 😊 🏏

He’s one of the nicest guys indeed!

Please feel free to post relevant questions in the comment section for non other than Alan Wilkins himself 🙏🏼

Will be live on my YouTube channel from 10:30pm, please Like, Subscribe & do join in!

Channel link: https://youtube.com/?si=8f_xhe7t8gAKHj7s

🗓️ 23rd February, 2023
⚔️ India vs. Australia
🏟️ Newlands, Cape Town

Whose fault was it then, Harmanpreet? 😉

Attaching a link the comment section that may help as well.

🚨 Apologies for the slight delay (about 5 years) in reporting this shameful act but better late than never!

It seems as if ethics and grace were never Captain Kaur’s forte 👀

YEP - SHE REALLY SAID THAT

Was re-watching the footage because I was having a bad day and needed Harmanpreet’s circus to cheer me up.

Noticed that at a point in the interview with Samannoy bhaia, Harmanpreet pointed out that the Indian High Commissioner was there. The implication being that she’s threatening to complain to the school principal or whatever like children do.

She also said it’s a shame that he cannot come up and talk in the presentation, as if it’s his job to advocate for her nonsense.

Harmanpreet Kaur- the gift that keeps on giving.

Along with Litton Das and Shakib Al Hasan, another person is going to Global T20 Canada. He is Masudur Rahman Mukul, the umpire from Bangladesh. ✈️🇨🇦

Glad to see finally a Bangladeshi umpire is rising internationally.

NAIM ✅, EMON ❌

Imagine flying in Mohammad Naim Sheikh urgently to play him against Sri Lanka ‘A’ without proper practice while someone as dangerous as Parvez Hossain Emon is already in the squad and on the bench.

Bangladesh ‘A’ were chasing 350 today and Naim thought it was a good idea to score only 6 off 17 balls at a point. His strike rate did improve before he got out but was still far below what the team needed from him.

Surely, if Tamim and Emon were opening together and scoring quickly simultaneously, we would have had a far better chance of winning.

Ridiculous selection.

Hoping to see Mrittunjoy, Emon and Dipu in the future matches instead of Naim, Soumya and Mahedi. The Emerging Asia Cup is not just about winning, it is also about giving a platform to truly “emerging” players.

Note: Soumya Sarkar played the same tournament 10 years ago as well.

From 2003, we took our first steps together at Under 15 level playing for Bangladesh's national team and shared our dreams and goals together to build a formidable bond and friendship over 20 years.

We, among many others, sacrificed a lot to take Bangladesh cricket to the next level and your passion and aggression has helped inspire many more.

We believed and relied on each other's strengths to achieve a common goal - to win for our country.

Your runs and records speak for themselves and we, as team mates, are immensely proud of everything you have accomplished as a player.

It's going to be strange to not be in the middle with you anymore...but your fire will be inside us all when we step into every battle.

May you continue to cross boundaries and hit sixes in life and enjoy new moments with your loved ones.

২০০৩ সাল থেকে জাতীয় দলের হয়ে অনূর্ধ্ব-১৫ স্তরে আমাদের একসাথে প্রথম পথ চলা এবং আমরা গত ২০ বছর ধরে আমাদের স্বপ্ন এবং লক্ষ্যগুলি একসাথে ভাগ করে একটি দৃঢ় বন্ধন এবং বন্ধুত্ব গড়ে তুলেছি।

আমরা বাংলাদেশের ক্রিকেটকে পরবর্তী স্তরে নিয়ে যাওয়ার জন্য অনেক ত্যাগ স্বীকার করেছি এবং তোমার আবেগ এবং আগ্রাসন আরও অনেককে অনুপ্রাণিত করতে সহায়তা করেছে।

একই লক্ষ্য অর্জনের জন্য আমরা একে অপরের শক্তির উপর নির্ভর করেছিলাম - আমাদের দেশের জন্য জয়লাভ করার জন্য।

তোমার রান এবং রেকর্ডগুলি নিজের পক্ষে কথা বলে এবং আমরা, টিম সঙ্গী হিসাবে, একজন খেলোয়াড় হিসাবে তুমি যা কিছু অর্জন করেছ তার জন্য আমরা অত্যন্ত গর্বিত।

তোমার সাথে আর মাঠের মাঝখানে না থাকাটা অদ্ভুত হবে...কিন্তু যখন আমরা প্রতিটি লড়াইয়ে পা রাখব তখন তোমার আগুন আমাদের সবার ভিতরে জ্বলবে।

তুমি তোমার নতুন জীবনে ছক্কা হাঁকাতে থাকো এবং তোমার প্রিয়জনের সাথে নতুন মুহূর্তগুলি উপভোগ কর।