Tamim waiting for the light
Shaheed Chandu Stadium is situated about 30 kilometres from his village (Karpur) in Sonatola upazila. Bangladesh Under-19 opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim took all the trouble merely to visit the stadium to breathe in the smell of the grass and get the feeling of standing inside a cricket ground.
The youngster cannot imagine life without cricket, but like many others the world over, he has to be content with watching matches on the TV screen or on YouTube, especially the last ICC Under-19 World Cup matches to uplift the spirit. Otherwise, he is busy following the fitness guidelines of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) as all cricketing activity has been suspended since March 19 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Tamim's obsession with cricket can be best understood from tales of his early days.
"An older boy in my area spent almost the entire day playing cricket and I watched him from the window. I was a meritorious student and was then preparing for admission to the Zilla School. My parents discouraged me from going outside at that time but I could not control myself and went out to meet that cricket-obsessed older boy without informing my parents. My parents wanted me to become a doctor or engineer, but I had other dreams.
"When I was a student of class VIII, I could not think about anything other than playing cricket and the consequence was that I started to do very poorly in my studies. And my father got upset. My father rented a house in the town only because of my education. He took stern action against me and kicked me out of the house and after two days my mother managed to calm the waters enough to bring me back. My mother then started to help me and she gave me some money so that I could gain admission to a cricket academy in Rajshahi. The rest of the money I earned playing popular khyap [on hire] matches.
"Things changed when I was called up for the Under-17 side and then both my father and mother were supportive of me fulfilling my dream," Tamim concluded his cricket origin story, almost in one breath as if he had told it many times before.
So, it is understandable that it is difficult for Tamim -- a left-handed batsman who idolises his namesake Tamim Iqbal and dreams of one day opening the batting for Bangladesh with the senior pro – to pass the days without any cricketing activity.
"It seems like I have arrived at a stage of darkness after a bright and colourful Under-19 World Cup campaign. We were in jubilant mood after winning the trophy and were looking to play good cricket in the coming series but all of a sudden everything has changed and we are locked in our homes. It's really frustrating. We can't do anything in this situation and everybody is helpless. We were very eager to do well in the [Dhaka] Premier League but everything is now uncertain," he said.
Tamim believes that their success in the World Cup gave Bangladesh cricket new confidence and one of his happiest memories of the triumph was singing Amra Korbo Joy (we shall overcome) in the dressing room after winning the trophy.
And the young man also believes 'we shall overcome' the current Covid-19 crisis.
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