They could not believe their eyes: the national cricket team heroes are here playing with them!
“Am I dreaming?” Ismat Ara Shyama asked herself, stopping for a while as she and her classmates surrounded Bangladesh players Junaed Siddique, Mahmudullah Riyad and Shahriar Nafees.
The three national cricketers yesterday went to the Kishalay Girls’ School and College in Mohammadpur to attend the closing event of the ‘Reading Festival’ organised by Room to Read, an educational partner of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The girls said that it was a pleasantly surprising end to their two-day wait when they finally came to know that three national cricketers would be coming to their school to take part in the festival at a time when the entire country is hot with World Cup cricket fever.
“We knew that three cricketers would be coming but we did not know their names. With excitement I passed two restless nights to see the national cricketers closely,” said Shyama.
Shyama’s game partner Rubayat Islam said, “I never thought that I would be able to play with Junaed.
“I thought that I would be able to see the players but actually playing with them was beyond my expectations,” she said, her eyes glittering with joy.
“We cannot express how happy we are. It’s a dream come true,” she added.
Like Shyama and Rubayat, it was a day of extreme joy and gaiety for some 200 students of the school who kept on screaming and cheering during the hour-long stay of the cricketers.
Most of the students expected Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan and vice captain Tamim Iqbal to attend the programme. But even though they did not attend, it did not have any impact on their zeal as they were seen busy taking photographs and autographs of the players amid tight security.
Room to Read chose the school for the closing ceremony because of time and security issues of the players. Every year, the organisation holds the function, which comprises of some language games and reading, writing and drawing activities, at their programme areas.
Currently, the organisation is working in two districts — Sirajganj and Brahambaria — since 2009 and are supporting 269 government or registered primary and six secondary schools to promote the skill and habit of reading.
Yesterday, Junaed, Mahmudullah and Nafees took part in a reading-based game called ‘Read and Run’ with the three separate teams. Junaed’s team won.
“It was a great game which taught us a lot,” said Rubayat, whose team Junaed played in.
However, the scenario was a bit less exciting for 13 girls who came from remote Chars of Sirajganj under Room to Read’s education assistance programme for girls.
Even though a number of them are not accustomed to cricket or national cricketers they still enjoyed the event yesterday.
Hawa Khatun, student of class VIII of Sholoshatak Jangolia High School in Sirajganj, said that since they have no electricity they watch the World Cup through battery-operated televisions.
These 13 girls were awarded for their outstanding result in the terminal exams in their respective classes despite staying in the remote chars.
The cricketers handed over a crest to the 13 girls and prizes to the winners of several games took place at the school yesterday.
Speaking on behalf of the players at the event, Shahriar Nafees urged the students to read more to acquire knowledge.
“We practice hard to attain perfection in the game. Similarly, you need to practice more for the perfection of your brain and the practice is reading,” he said.
