A new level and a just result

India great Virender Sehwag said World Cup organisers should offer free tickets to children to fill up seats in matches not involving the hosts, after witnessing empty stands during Thursday's opener between England and New Zealand in Ahmedabad.

The Black Caps crushed champions England by nine wickets in a game that eventually drew 47,518 fans, which the International Cricket Council said was a record turnout for an opening match at a 50-overs World Cup.

However, swathes of empty seats in the 132,000-seater venue - named after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi - early in the contest left many fans online unimpressed.

The venue had drawn 101,566 fans for the final of the Indian Premier League last year, but factors like the hosts not playing, a weekday fixture and the oppressive heat in the city could have played a part on Thursday.

"Hopefully after office hours, there should be more people coming in," former India batsman Sehwag posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, shortly after the match began.

"But for games not featuring Bharat (India), there should be free tickets for school and college children.

"With the fading interest in 50-over games, it will definitely help that youngsters get to experience a World Cup game and players get to play in front of a full stadium."

Former India all-rounder and coach Ravi Shastri said the opening match should have featured the hosts, who only begin their campaign against Australia on Sunday, instead of both finalists from 2019.

"I understand you want one of the former finalists to play, but at all costs, have a home team play," Shastri, who works as a commentator, said during the broadcast after former England opener Michael Atherton raised the topic.

"If this was India v England, you would be guaranteed a full house. Even on a weekday, at least 70,000-80,000 people would have come in. It just adds that buzz. There is a build-up."

Away from cricket, the ongoing rugby World Cup in France has been played to packed stadiums with fixtures and venues released as early as 2021.

In contrast, the schedule for the cricket showpiece was only announced on June 27 - 100 days before the first game.

A massive turnout can be expected at Ahmedabad, however, when India face arch-rivals Pakistan on Oct. 14.

Bangladeshi fans like to say that the contest between Bangladesh and India is an emerging rivalry in world cricket. Most Indian fans will say that this is a bit of wishful thinking, India is way ahead of Bangladesh in almost every cricketing metric, be it ranking, quality of players, quality of domestic leagues, and of course, financial backbone of the board. Bangladeshi fans might hit back with some recent head to head records, where India has lost three out of the last four One Day Internationals. Indians will respond by saying that two of those wins were near miracles that took place in Mirpur, and the other was a dead rubber in the Asia Cup.

The debate can rage on, but what's notable in any exchange like this is the fact that when it comes to facing India, Bangladeshi fans become highly sensitive, wary of not being taken seriously, and easily offended at any hint of a slight. This is a relatively recent trend, and while we can confidently hope that our cricketers don't quite participate in the same mental gymnastics that keep fans like us on a knife's edge during any Bangladesh-India match, there is something to be said about the collective national approach of facing India in a cricket match.

Let's paint the picture. Bangladesh is taking on India in cricket, and the whole country is at a standstill. All TVs are tuned to the right channel, car stereos blare commentary, and storefronts across the country have small crowds forming in front of them, just as long as they have a TV. The game rolls on, scores are checked on phones and computers, even those in commute are starting to stream the game on their phones. There might be a prolonged moment of palpable tension when even the most passionately sports-averse person is forced to ask someone nearby if Bangladesh might be winning this one. The game is usually close, ending with rapturous delight in victory or unshakeable gloom in defeat – the common theme being intense emotions.

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Fragile egos and fallen heroes

While this might feel inevitable given the aspirational journey of Bangladeshi cricket so far and the neighbourhood giants who consistently set new standards in the sport, there are clear instances in history that we can point to that made things this way. 

Let's start with 2007, when Bangladesh beat India in the first match of the world cup and essentially knocked out the team that best encapsulated that golden generation of Indian cricket. A highly unexpected victory, this created much jubilation within Bangladesh, but for India, this was a low moment. Effigies were burned, and fans protested the team's woeful performance on the streets. MS Dhoni, the man who took them to the promised land just four years later, possibly suffered the worst of it all when his house in Ranchi was attacked by overzealous fans.

The result was an upheaval in Indian cricket, and much had changed by the time 2011 rolled around. The world cup was on home shores for both Bangladesh and India, and the first game was in Mirpur between the two hosts. Some Indian players were open about this being a chance for them to take revenge, and they played that way too. Virender Sehwag took apart the bowling, and Bangladesh lost badly. Fans who followed the team closely during those days will remember clearly what Sehwag said in his post match interview: "I have said this is a revenge game and we have won. I have said before [that] Bangladesh are not good in Tests, but they can compete in ODIs, but today they could not."

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Time for a new chapter in the story of Bangladesh cricket

Post match interviews in cricket have always been a humble affair. The comments made by Sehwag hurt Bangladeshi fans who were already hurting from a terrible loss at home, and the heat in this rivalry got turned up a notch.

After that, Bangladesh beat India in a close Asia Cup game in 2012, but possibly the biggest moment in this story took place in 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. In front of a huge crowd of Indian expatriates, Bangladesh was still in the game when Rohit Sharma was caught in the deep off a Rubel Hossain full toss. The umpire, however, had a decision to make, as the full toss was high. It was judged a no-ball. Rohit Sharma proceeded to take the game away from the Tigers' claws, and Bangladesh complained about that no-ball decision to the end of the world. 

Let's paint the picture. Bangladesh is taking on India in cricket, and the whole country is in a standstill. All TVs are tuned to the right channel, car stereos blare commentary, and storefronts across the country have small crowds forming in front of them, just as long as they have a TV. The game rolls on, scores are checked on phones and computers, even those in commute are starting to stream the game on their phones. There might be a prolonged moment of palpable tension when even the most passionately sports-averse person is forced to ask someone nearby if Bangladesh might be winning this one. The game is usually close, ending with rapturous delight in victory or unshakeable gloom in defeat – the common theme being intense emotions.

The ICC president at the time was AHM Mustafa Kamal, and he didn't hold himself back in criticising the umpiring. This led to a situation where the ICC and its president were in a standoff, all over a no-ball decision that possibly wouldn't have even changed the course of the game. The Guardian came up with the headline "ICC slams its own president for criticising umpire at Cricket World Cup", and AHM Mustafa Kamal was denied the opportunity of presenting the winning team at the end of the tournament with the trophy. The rivalry was now bitter.

Right after the world cup, during a series win at home against the mighty Indians, everything was going the way of Bangladesh. Mustafizur Rahman had all the batsmen looking bewildered, but an incident occurred when the imposing figure of MS Dhoni strongly bumped into Mustafizur and hurt him, and this was enough to rile fans up once again. 

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The big business of India-Pakistan cricket

The period right after this featured some of the most heartbreaking cricket in the life of a Bangladeshi fan, almost all of them against India. There was the horror show at the 2016 ICC World T20, where Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah choked needing 2 off 3 balls. Then the Nidahas Trophy final in Sri Lanka went down to the last ball where 5 was needed and Dinesh Karthik hit a sixer off Soumya Sarkar. This was followed by another Asia Cup final heartbreak, where Litton Das scored a beautiful century, but the batting collapsed soon after, and Bangladesh lost the match on the last ball yet again.

And all of this build up brings up to the present, where it starts to make sense why the contest against India is so meaningful for Bangladeshi fans. All these close losses seem to suggest that Bangladeshi cricketers too feel some of that pressure, but modern day athletes have extensive support systems that help them to get out of these mental loops. Regular wins against India in recent months might spell a change in fortunes, but facing India in India in front of thousands of boisterous Indian fans is a different ball game altogether. One thing is for certain, being stuck in their own heads and letting the demons of the past chase them around will not help our cricketers. Leave that suffering for us fans.

Azmin Azran is the editor of Campus and Rising Stars at The Daily Star.

Views expressed in this article are the author's own.

Follow The Daily Star Opinion on Facebook for the latest opinions, commentaries and analyses by experts and professionals. To contribute your article or letter to The Daily Star Opinion, see our guidelines for submission.

Expectations were high ahead of the World Cup in England but upon the team’s return home yesterday, captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza spoke of his disappointment of not meeting their own expectations in the coveted tournament, although he lauded the poise from the youngsters.

Aside from Shakib Al Hasan, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Sabbir Rahman and Liton Das, all of whom are currently on vacation, the rest of the Tigers departed from Heathrow Airport on July 6.

Following their quarterfinal exit in the 2015 edition, the Tigers left for the ongoing World Cup with high hopes of reaching the semifinals for the first time in history.

The accumulation of experience and the fact that the team won their first multi-nation tournament just ahead of the World Cup during a tri-series on their tour of Ireland, where they beat West Indies in the final, provided the team with impetus going into the showpiece event.

Expectations were further justified when they began their campaign with a win against South Africa. However, results did not go their way when it mattered most. Given the format, where all ten teams played each other in the group stage, it was always going to be a tough ask. Yet, the Tigers finished well below the expected mark, ending in eighth place after having targeted a semifinal berth.

“We went there with expectations and from that point of view it is disappointing. If we look at the whole World Cup and how we played, if some things went in our favour, we could have played the semifinals. Overall it was a positive experience but at the same time, the expectations were higher and from that point of view, it was disappointing,” Mashrafe told reporters yesterday upon his arrival at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.

The close defeat to New Zealand and the washed out match against Sri Lanka certainly played a hand but Mashrafe took responsibility nevertheless.

“As a captain, when the team does not fulfil expectations, then I will have to accept criticism. Of course I am taking full responsibility and at the same time it is normal that there will be criticism anywhere in the world after a big tournament,” the inspirational skipper added.

While his disappointment was evident when he suggested that ‘the chips were down’ in crucial matches, Mashrafe spoke highly of the youngsters’ efforts and said they should not be blamed, adding that some could match the levels of the current Big Five.

“It’s always the young players who are particularly blamed. Those who are seniors now, they were young once and not as consistent as they are now. The youngsters now are playing with a level of consistency and under a kind of intense pressure that we did not have to face when we were young,” Mashrafe said, referencing younger players like Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehedi, Mustafizur and Liton Das.

“So, they cannot be blamed unilaterally. They tried very hard. It is a big stage and it is not easy to perform here. I am hoping that with more experience they will reach the levels shown by Shakib, Tamim, Mushfiqur and Riyad.”

Lack of consistency played a key role for the captain in their campaign, which could have ended differently. However, Shakib Al Hasan performed magnificently throughout the tournament and the captain duly credited his star all-rounder.

“Shakib was outstanding. Shakib, Mushfiqur [Rahim], Mustafizur and Saifuddin played outstanding cricket. The others performed less consistently. At some particular points we needed luck to be on our side but that did not happen.”

Yearzan Begum, Bangladesh's saviour in the SAFF Under-16 Women's Championship final against India with three saves in the penalty shootout on Sunday, thought her football dreams had ended in 2018. 

Yearzan, a promising school-level goalkeeper had quit football around six years back, surrendering to the lack of opportunities in her Khoprabandi village in Panchagarh, giving way to the sneers and mocking that follows young girls in rural Bangladesh who dare to dream of making a career in football.

"After playing in the school tournament [Bangamata Gold Cup], I quit football in 2018 because there was no opportunity to play football under any coach in my village. The villagers also did not support me," Yearzan told the reporters at the BFF house on yesterday afternoon following the arrival of the champion Bangladesh team from Nepal.

Yearzan would not be guarding the Bangladesh post in the final had it not been for Abu Taleb Tuku, a local football coach in Panchagarh who persuaded her to return to football.

"Coach Abu Taleb Tuku invited me to play for his football academy after learning about me through my friends. He trained me and told me I could play in Dhaka and for the national football team if I work harder. I promised to do it," said Yearzan.

The young goalkeeper had to travel nearly 12 kilometres every day from her village to the town to train at Abu Taleb's academy. But growing up in a home where her father is battling an illness that keeps him from having a job and her mother runs the family working as a house help, Yearzan has lived a life of hardship. So, the distance from her home to the academy couldn't keep her from chasing her dreams.

Yearzan made one of her dreams come true in 2023, when she played for Siraj Smrity Academy in the Bangladesh Women's Football League. She later gave a trial at the U19 team but due to her young age was selected for the U16 team instead. In the final, Bangladesh came from a goal-down to take the match into the penalty shootout.

When asked what was running on her mind when she was walking towards the post after Sauravi Akanda Prity missed Bangladesh's first penalty, Yearzan said, "When the shot from Prity apu was stopped, the only thought in my mind was that how can I stop the shots of the Indian players. I was confident to save two to three shots and I did it."

"During the last shot, I was really confident to save it. But after I did it, I could not believe it myself," she added.
Yearzan also said that she had a shootout training before the final match and followed the instruction of the head coach Saiful Bari Titu.

"During the final training, the head coach told me to focus on the ball then I could choose the which side to go to save the ball."
Now, Yearzan will work towards fulfilling another dream of hers, playing for the Bangladesh women's team.

When Sauravi Akanda Prity missed the first attempt in the penalty shootout of the SAFF U-16 Women's Championship final against India on Saturday, the apprehension of a sinking ship close to the shore must have gripped the entire team.

India coach Biby Thomas Muttath had taken off regular goalkeeper Munni and brought on Surajmuni Kumari just before the end of regulation time. Surajmuni pulled off a brilliant save to deny Prity, later adjudged the most valuable player of the competition.

Then stepped up Yearzan Begum and changed the fate of the final with a starring performance under the bar, saving three Indian spot-kicks to help Bangladesh emerge as unbeaten champions with a 3-2 win.

Yearzan blocked the final attempt from Linda Divyani, sending her teammates and a handful of Bangladeshi supporters at the gallery into wild euphoria at the ANFA Complex in Lalitpur, Nepal.

Yearzan Begum. PHOTO: BFF

"It is a different feeling to become the best goalkeeper in my debut international tournament. I want to thank my coach to take me to this level. I am really happy. I want to dedicate this award to my coach and my father," said Yearzan, overwhelmed with emotion.

The final battle entered the dramatic shootout after Bangladesh defender Mariam Binte Hanna cancelled out India's Anushka Kumari's fourth-minute lead in the 71st minute with a side-volley on a corner kick. And while Prity's effort was stopped and Alpi Akter's attempt came off the woodwork, Yearzan made sure Bangladesh regained the title of the age-group completion (played alternatively between under-15 and under-16 levels) since their maiden triumph in 2017.

Since the maiden success in the SAFF Women's Championship in 2022, Bangladesh women have now added three more accolades to their growing trophy cabinet by winning the SAFF Under-20 Women's Championship, SAFF Under-19 Women's Championship and SAFF U-16 Women's Championship titles.

Although Prity won the most valuable player award, she missed out on the top-scorer's trophy to India's Anushka Kumari by the odd goal. However, she wasn't disappointed at all for not winning the individual accolade.

"I don't have any regrets for not winning the top-scorer award because becoming the champions is the most important thing. We had confidence and belief that Yearzan could make the saves and deliver the trophy," said Prity, who scored five goals in the three round-robin matches of the competition.

Captain Arpita Biswas revealed that she had the confidence in her teammates, saying that ever since she touched the trophy at the pre-final photoshoot, she had her eyes on the ultimate prize.

"I was very excited to see the trophy at the pre-final event. I touched the trophy and since then I was determined to take this trophy home. I also transferred my dream to my teammates and told them not to allow India to take it."