Cricket dinosaur

Now the debate is high, if it was a wise decision to grant Bangladesh the ultimate test status and now when it seems that it was not wise, should its membership in the elite test-playing nations continue? Even many Bangladeshis are saying that we should not play tests (though perhaps after Sunday these voices will be muted for a while).

But before answering the question, let us look at the game of cricket. If India and Pakistan were not granted test status sixty years ago, what would have been the condition of this marvelous game? It would have turned into dinosaur. Cricket would become an extinct game. The Indian sub-continent is now supplying the bread and butter for this popular sport. Money from Indian sponsors is helping this game flourish throughout the world. Only in the sub-continent is the number of spectators of test cricket rising.

For the Australian audience, it is an opportunity for sunshine and family picnic. For spectators of Sri Lanka, India, and Pakistan it is a passion. It is a medium of showing patriotism and dream fulfillment. Without the inclusion of India and Pakistan years back, the game of cricket would have been lifeless. Only England and Australia would have played cricket. Only fifty trained players from each country would have been enough for the ashes series.

World cricket bodies in different period of time were wise enough to grant test status to West Indies, South Africa, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwe. It helped the game of cricket to achieve a kind of status of world sport. Since the popularity of this game is decreasing in all the countries except the sub-continent, the ICC took the initiative to spread the game throughout the world. The ICC would feel proud to say that they have thirty-odd countries in associate member panel, but careful observation would reveal that most of the players came from the Indian sub-continent. It is clear that people and money from the Indian sub-continent is helping the game of cricket to survive.

Cricket players are short in supply in England and New Zealand. Cricket is facing challenge in Australia from other sports. Popularity graph of cricket in West Indies is in the down turn. Cricket has never been a popular game in Zimbabwe. Most of the associate member countries of the ICC would find it difficult to show even a few hundred genuine home-grown cricket players in the pipeline. So, the present of cricket is in the hands of spectators of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Australia. Whenever a game of cricket is played at any place of the world -- mostly spectators from the Indian sub-continent are seen to enjoy and watch the game.

If the glamorous present of the game of cricket is dependent on the Indian sub-continent and Australia than the future of cricket will be on the hands of the Indian sub-continent including Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is a place where there is no shortage of spectators. The people of Bangladesh not only love to see their team play cricket, they also love to watch other countries play cricket. Like India, Bangladesh is a developing country where cricket is a passion. Sponsors are also willing to take this opportunity to get close to people with the help of cricket. In future, the all-Indian dream of either becoming a cricketer or a Bollywood star will change into becoming an IT expert or male model as the social structure changes in India. Bangladesh will be the hope for the game of cricket with its young generation and enthusiastic spectators.

Though it was not said clearly, but it was true that Bangladesh gained test status not for playing high quality cricket but for its spectators, popularity of the game, sponsorship, government support, infrastructure for playing cricket, and abundant supply of home grown players. There is little doubt in most people's mind that Kenya is a better cricket nation than Bangladesh, but they are not given test status because they do not have all the support that Bangladesh have. Kenya probably does not possess a supply of homegrown cricket players.

Bangladesh has it all to help the beautiful game of cricket to survive in future. Spectators, players, sponsors of Bangladesh can save this game from becoming a dinosaur. While it is true that the performance of Bangladeshi cricketers has not been as good as expected, there were blinks of hope here and there, witness the superb play in all three of the one-dayers against India, not only the second one.

There is enthusiasm everywhere, cricket has found a new place where it can flourish. The reasons why Bangladesh was given test status are still very valid. So, Bangladesh should play test cricket for the survival of the game as well as the ICC. If the process of increasing the number of test playing countries does not continue, cricket will face the fate of the dinosaurs. Save the cricket dinosaur and permit Bangladesh more time to become a major cricket-playing nation.

The author is a freelance contributor to The Daily Star.