Cricketers <i>An Endangered Species</i>

As we speak, cricketers of this country will have no further role to play (ignore the pun) in the goings-on of the highest regulatory authority of the game in the country. For all practical purposes, those who had played the game at any level will find themselves left in the cricketing wilderness; having plied their trade for years at home and abroad, doing their duty for the country and the flag, they will now have to sit in the stands, as it were, and watch the world as it passes them by.
In one fell swoop, the most recent Extraordinary General Meeting of the BCB has opted by an overwhelming majority to deny cricketers the chance to serve the BCB and also, by extension, the game they have contributed so much to. For cricketers -- whose locus standing in the councillorship of the BCB was enshrined in the Constitution of the Board -- this is a very bitter pill to swallow, not so much for the demeaning of status of these individuals, but also for the fact that they are being deprived of the opportunity of contributing towards the overall development and benefit of the game.
There have been several arguments put forward to justify the deletion of the relevant clauses in the existing Constitution, the most pertinent being that the cricketers were not being represented through respective organisations and institutions, as in the case of other councillors. Granted, this is a valid point. But the point that is being overlooked is equally pertinent: if a mechanism was found to keep the cricketers away from the aegis of the Board, could not a mechanism have been considered to keep them in?
Are we to assume that cricketers are a form of virus that is likely to prove detrimental to the functioning of the Board? Cricketers have sacrificed much in their personal and professional lives, providing much joy and pride to millions of Bangladeshis in the process. Having contributed their all towards upholding the image and status of our country among the international community, are they asking for too much in wanting to be a part of the process that determines the whys and wherefores of our cricket? It hurts, because it is painful that a community that is held in high esteem by the general multitudes should be denied their rightful place and regarded as pariahs.
It is true that cricketers on their own identity are not holding their own in most of the regulatory bodies in world cricket. But those institutions are manned by individuals who are products of a system and structure that has evolved over decades of being actively involved in that area of expertise. The machinery works differently, not only in relying on the regional bodies that supplement them but also in the professional manner in which they are run and administered. Could we honestly say the same for our own structure?
There is a need for a homemade recipe for our way of getting things done. If we are to be blind followers of other such bodies elsewhere in the world, then let us follow them in totality, not piecemeal, only choosing what suits our ends. Are we brave enough to downsize the number of our Board Directors to achieve conformity with the size of other international bodies of similar nature?
Let us not forget, this is the country that gave the world the innovative new concept of microcredit, that one of our own was awarded a Nobel Prize for doing just that. We can be an exception to the rule and we must, for the greater good of the game.
It is not the intention of this article to be confrontational in any manner. It merely attempts to put forward an appeal to the powers that be. This is an appeal to be considerate to a class of individuals -- cricketers in this case -- who are one of the MAJOR STAKEHOLDERS of the game in Bangladesh. Even the smallest minority of our citizens have their rights protected under the Constitution of Bangladesh. By that definition, to be wiped out as an entity from the existing Constitution of the Board is not just discrimination, it is tantamount to sporting genocide.
Ours is a nation still trying to find its way in the hurly-burly world of international cricket. There is a need for administrators, organisers, sponsors and, not least, the people who have actually played the game to put their collective best foot forward, so that the game thrives in our country to its fullest potential. Cricketers, as such, have already long been serving their sport -- they merely wish to continue their involvement in a higher forum. This they want to do without prejudice. Please do not sit on judgment otherwise. Cricketers, as a community, have achieved all there was to achieve within the boundary ropes. There is still a role for them now beyond the boundary. Let us not deny them. There is much to gain from their involvement.