Unjustly stung

As planet earth is about to complete a full circle on its orbit round the sun, ask a cricketer, a cricket official or a cricket aficionado of Bangladesh what was the one wish they had that was not granted in an unforgettable year of 2015.

Apart from a few exceptions the unequivocal reply would be -- Australia's tour of Bangladesh. We all know Cricket Australia (CA) suspended the two-Test tour, scheduled in October, on security grounds. The CA snub, which hurt Bangladesh cricket deeply, came at a time when the Tigers were making one statement after another against the established giants of world cricket. A maiden quarterfinal berth at the expense of England in the February-March World Cup down under, followed by a 3-0 Pakistan whitewash in April, a 2-1 series win against India in June and a magnificent comeback 2-1 success against South Africa in July -- all in ODIs at home -- not only made Bangladesh the team to beat in their own den in the shorter version but also injected much-needed confidence into the longer version, where Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes produced 312, a world record second-innings opening stand, against Pakistan in the drawn opening Test at Khulna.

By the time the Tigers conquered the Proteas in Chittagong, the roar was deafening and the mood was like 'bring on the Aussies'. And without getting into the small details of how well the Tigers would have fared in the demanding five-day contest against the Australian juggernauts, the series could have completed a dream year for Tigers fans.

The Aussie snub has so far been well documented across the cricketing world, which for the first time has also lavishly acknowledged 2015 as the year of the Tigers. But the Aussies no show, in hindsight, has greatly damaged Bangladesh's image as a safe haven for sporting events. The Socceroos, the Australian football team, also made a lot of hue and cry before embarking on their away World Cup qualifying fixture against Bangladesh on November 17.

On that day at the Bangabandhu National Stadium the Socceroos won 5-0. But thousands of miles away their watching fans must have been taken aback seeing a full house of sports lovers and more importantly not terrorists, which their establishment desperately tried to portray, in the mix.