The mighty floodlights of Mirpur Stadium blaze with the depth of a thousand suns, lighting up Dhaka’s night skies. And but, for some Bangladeshi souls, the glow will not be sufficient to brighten their spirits. Why? As a result of for them, cricket, the game that ignites the hearts of thousands and thousands, is as thrilling as watching paint dry on Dhaka’s concrete jungle partitions. Some would even quite hearken to a political debate throughout load-shedding than one other cricket commentary.
Amidst the raging sea of inexperienced jerseys and the keenness of followers who can differentiate between a googly and a doosra, there is a quiet minority who take a look at a cricket ball and see, properly, only a ball. They argue, “Why spend 5 days watching a Take a look at match when it’d simply finish in a draw?” Feels like ready for a rain-soaked Dhaka highway to dry, would not it? To them, the thought of 11 individuals chasing after it’s as baffling because the peculiar choice of Dhaka drivers for honking incessantly even when the site visitors lights are purple.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel. To many, the foundations of cricket are as perplexing as Dhaka’s maze-like alleyways. Level, foolish level, gully—to the uninitiated, these phrases sound extra just like the names of native hangout spots quite than sports activities lingo. And don’t even get them began on the Duckworth-Lewis methodology! For them, it is like making an attempt to decode the fare calculation of a fast-metered CNG.
The devotion of true cricket aficionados is unmatched. They follow their staff by way of thick and skinny, virtually mirroring the loyalty of Dhakaiites to their beloved biriyani, come rain or shine. They battle hypertension with every ball, focus on techniques greater than most politicians focus on insurance policies and even affiliate superstitions with their apparel. Put on the improper color fatua on match day, and you’ve got jinxed the sport!
For them, a cricket match doesn’t evoke the highs and lows of a cleaning soap opera. Now, with the Cricket World Cup 2023 in full swing, the cricket mania has reached fever pitch. But, a choose group in Dhaka groans internally with each point out of it. To them, each match looks like déjà vu, an motion replay of balls, bats, and limits.
And but, the irony will not be misplaced on us. Whereas cricket may seem to be an infinite saga of balls and runs to some, it is the rhythm of life to others. It is a sport that may make a complete nation cheer in unison one second after which plunge into collective despair the subsequent.
Opinions naturally diverge vastly in a metropolis as various and energetic as Dhaka. Opinions are sure to vary vastly in a metropolis as various and dynamic as Dhaka. Bangladeshis will endlessly love cricket, however for some individuals, it is simply one other exercise they discover obscure. And that is actually superb. There’s area for each perspective, together with these which can be opposite to the bulk, within the magnificent tapestry of Dhaka’s various inhabitants. Similar to there’s room each for the die-hard cricket fan and the one who would quite clear up a trigonometry drawback in a public bus than watch a match.
