No one related with Bangladesh cricket could possibly have envisaged the rise and fall of Mohammad Ashraful, the country’s first cricket superstar.
Ever since he made his bow in a Test match against Sri Lanka in 2001 as a precocious 17-year old, the only way was up for the big-hitting batsman.In that very Test match against the Sri Lankans, Ashraful scripted his way into the history books by blasting a century to become the youngest ever-Test centurion since the inception of Test cricket in 1877.
The world of cricket had begun to take notice of the many talents portrayed by the gifted batsman.
One by one followed some mesmerising knocks over the years which took everyone’s breath away. The little man in stature displayed such enchantment to his fans that even during his off days, and there were plenty, people still backed him in numbers.
Such was the impact of his flair that the name Ashraful will forever be associated with some memorable wins, wins without which it would be difficult to write the history of Bangladesh cricket.
And each knock was equally compelling than the other. Very few can ever forget that scintillating innings of 100 in an ODI against Australia at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff which defied belief. The ease with which Ashraful dispatched the deliveries bowled by Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz to the boundary fence was evident for all to see.
History was created as Bangladesh defeated Australia, back then the benchmark of all cricketing nations, for the very first time in international cricket. The then Australian captain Ricky Ponting had nothing but a smile on his face.
Then there was that blistering innings of 158 in a Test match against India in 2004. Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan were known for their guile with the swinging delivery but Ashraful was unperturbed as he struck no less than 24 boundaries and three sixes in his 194-ball stay, which is not too dissimilar to a one-day knock.
Despite displays of inconsistency every once in a while, Ashraful never failed to enthrall his legion of supporters. No one will perhaps forget his enterprising 87 against South Africa in the 2007 ICC World Cup, which also brought a win against the Southern African nation for the first time.
The trend of Ashraful’s brilliancy does not stop there. The audacity with which Ashraful regularly came down the ticket to Stephen Harmison and Andrew Flintoff and the disdain treatment that he dished out throughout his 52-ball 94 will always be itched in the minds of the cricket fans in the country.
Each innings was identically dazzling to the other as one might point out to his 27-ball 61 against the West Indies in the ICC World Twenty20 in 2007 to be one of his finest ever innings.
The landscape of Bangladesh cricket, however, turned totally upside down when revelations came out of Ashraful’s involvement in match-fixing. Disbelief gave way to sadness as he admitted his role in the recent fiasco, much to the grave disappointment of his followers.
His apology to the country on Tuesday and the tears that followed only compounded the misery of his fans.
However, the show must go on and the beautiful game of cricket, which is often referred to as the gentleman’s game, must rid of all the ugly happenings and the personalities responsible for it.
Everyone too will move on, perhaps remembering Ashraful as the great tragic hero who presented many beautiful days to the people who fell in love with Bangladesh cricket.
-With New Age input
