Once it was a dream for the cricketers in the country to play the Asia Cup but obviously those days are well and truly gone. In those days, the country’s cricketers hardly got the opportunity of getting international exposure and this tournament was the only platform for them to show what they’ve got.
International cricket is now an everyday affair for the current generation of cricketers because they go through a hectic schedule in different formats of the game all through the year since Bangladesh’s elevation to the highest level in 2000.
So a Shakib Al Hasan or a Mushfiqur Rahim will definitely never feel the excitement with the region’s biggest cricket extravaganza as was the feeling of the generation of Athar Ali Khan when the eleventh version of the competition will kick off at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur today.
“I made my international debut in the Asia Cup in 1988. In those days Asia Cup was a big thing for us and we had been eagerly waiting for the biennial tournament because it had created the opportunity to get international exposure,” said the former opener turned commentator Athar.
“Just imagine, I got the opportunity to play 19 one-day international in my ten years of international career, so in this generation it would be impossible to imagine how exciting it was to play in the Asia Cup. The sentiment will be the same if you ask any other cricketers in my generation,” he added.
Despite Bangladesh’s poor performance in the Asia Cup, the former opener found huge difference in the approach of the two generation of cricketers.
“I can’t explain to you how much adrenaline rushed through our veins when we thought that we were going to meet India, Pakistan or Sri Lanka. Does it reflect the same to this new generation? Of course not. They are more professional than us and they are playing the big opponents regularly,” explained the former cricketer.
The memory of his man-of-the-match award against Sri Lanka in Eden Gardens is still fresh in Athar’s mind.
“It was simply an amazing experience.”
-With The Daily Star input
