An inexplicable exile
Before winning the Under-19 World Cup this year, the young Tigers went to the Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogura in December 2019 to prepare for the global showpiece event in South Africa. U-19 captain Akbar Ali, their manager and coach told this correspondent that Bogura has grassy wickets and boast the best bouncy wickets in the country.
On August 25 this year, Mushfiqur Rahim practised at his hometown stadium and uploaded a video on his Facebook page, saying that the Bogura wickets were the best in the country.
Interest in cricket, and indeed the sport itself, has been growing in leaps and bounds across the country over the last two decades. Young fans now not only watch Tests and ODIs, they watch the IPL and BPL and are passionately engaged in these events. Fans of Dhaka, Chattogram and more recently Sylhet get to watch their heroes in the flesh. That is true to a lesser extent of the faithful in Khulna, Narayanganj and Cox's Bazar.
But when it comes to the north of the country, fans could be forgiven for thinking that there is no international venue to visit, at least not since 2006.
The Shaheed Chandu Stadium has seen no international cricket match since the end of that year. People of the northern districts do not know of any obvious reason for this neglect.
In 2004, three matches of the ICC under-19 World Cup were held in this stadium. Since then, under-19 teams from different countries, A-teams, high-performance teams have kept coming here. Among the domestic leagues, matches of the Corporate Cricket League, National Cricket League, and the Dhaka Premier League have taken place in this ground.
On January 30, 2006, the ICC declared the stadium an international cricket venue. Later that year, the stadium was also recognised as an international Test venue by the ICC.
Between February and December 2006, Bogura hosted five ODIs -- four of which were won by Bangladesh -- and one Test, against Sri Lanka, which the hosts lost by 10 wickets. On February 22, 2006, Bangladesh notched their first ODI win over Sri Lanka at this venue.
The stats say that Bogura has been a happy hunting ground for the Tigers, yet the floodlights of the Shaheed Chandu Stadium have not been lit since the end of 2006.
NO REASON FOR NEGLECT
There are no obvious reasons behind Bogura being ignored by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).
Apart from Mushfiqur Rahim – arguably the best batsman Bangladesh has produced –at least 10 boys and girls from Bogura are playing regular cricket in the Bangladesh national (men's and women's), Under-19, and Under-16 and high-performance teams. With this tradition, it is only logical that more international attention will unearth a richer pool of talent.
For people of 16 northern districts, this venue offers the only hope of watching international cricket matches without them having to disrupt their daily plans.
Geographically, Bogura's location is such that people from these districts can visit in the morning to watch the game and return home by bus or train in the evening. They do not have to stay in a hotel to spend the night.
Even on the accommodation and hospitality front -- a prerequisite to hosting international teams -- the facilities are not wanting. Quality hotels like Momo Inn, Hotel Naz Garden and others have sprung up.
Bogura is only 192 kilometres away from Dhaka. After Dhaka and Chattogram, Bogura currently has the best communication facilities. Work on the four-lane roads on the Dhaka-Rangpur highway is in progress.
There is a perception among people of the northern districts that politics have played a part in Bogura being ignored. The stadium, which used to be the Bogura District Stadium, was established as an international venue under BNP rule and since an England A side visited during the caretaker government in 2007, there has been no international cricket in the region under incumbent Awami League rule.
Sagar Kumar Roy, vice-president of Bogura District Sports Association and joint secretary of Bogura District Awami League, said, "We are constantly appealing to the sports minister and the BCB to bring back international matches but they have not responded positively yet. A BCB official told us that there is no opportunity to go to Bogura by air."
Wishing anonymity, a top leader of the Bogura District Awami League, said, "It is wrong to say that foreign teams cannot visit Bogura by air. There is an airport where training aircraft of the Air Force land and the runway expansion work was also done in last year.
Shubhashish Poddar Liton, president of Bogura District Jubo League and vice-president of the district sports association, said, "The deputy commissioner is the ex-officio president of the district sports association. When we talk to him about this issue, he does not take it seriously." Liton said that he would try to talk about this with central AL leaders very soon.
COST-EFFECTIVE TOO
In the 2003-4 fiscal year, the National Sports Council converted the Bogura District Stadium to an international cricket venue at a cost of Tk 21 crore. There are already 5 good wickets and two more new wickets should not cost much. The outfield, gallery, hospitality boxes, medical centre and dressing rooms are still in good shape. What is left is an electronic scoreboard.
In the Bangladesh Premier League, Rangpur Rangers do not have a home ground yet. If the Shaheed Chandu Stadium became Rangpur's home, it is conceivable that much of the aforementioned renovation expenses could be borne by the franchise.
The government has established international cricket stadiums in Cox's Bazar, Sylhet and Khulna since Bogura has apparently been shunned. In 2011, the renovation work of Shaheed Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in Khulna cost more than Tk 80 crore. The proposed cost of the Sheikh Hasina International Cricket Stadium in Purbachal has been estimated at more than Tk 1,100 crore.
As it currently exists, the stadium has become a liability for the BCB when it could be an asset. Preferring to remain unnamed, BCB officials said although floodlights have rarely been lit since 2006, the board pays more than Tk 90,000 per month for the electricity connection. Around Tk 2.5 lakh is also spent each month on the stadium staff's salaries and nominal maintenance work.
The stadium is also becoming a monument to wasted public money as it wastes away with no refurbishing done in the last 14 years. In the first decade of this millennium, the NSC took money out of the government treasury to rebuild the venue.
Above all, if Akbar Ali's words and Mushfiqur words hold any value, the stadium is a valuable asset for the national team. The sporting wickets played a crucial part in the young Tigers winning the U-19 World Cup, and the national team can be similarly benefited, especially as their inability to compete on sporting tracks abroad has been a long-standing weakness.
And considering the need to spread cricket to all parts and widen the talent pool, Bogura's continuing exile is an inexplicable one.