BANGLADESH NEWS
The Honours Board at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. © BCB
Bangladesh Cricket Board launched an Honours Board at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium during a special program organized by the board to mark the silver jubilee of achieving Test status on June 26, 2000.
Bangladesh played their inaugural Test match against India on November 10, 2000.
A commemorative cabinet was also set up beside the Honours board. All of the trophies that the players won for Bangladesh were put on display.
BCB unveiled a Test Honours board for the first time at the ‘Home of Cricket’, bearing the names of all Bangladesh Test cricketers starting from Akram Khan to Habibul Bashar Suman, Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan while apart from that current cricketers like Nayeem Hasan and Nahid Rana’s name are also included in the Honours Board.
Youth and Sports Advisor Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan inaugurated the Honours Board. The event brought together many of the players who featured in Bangladesh’s first Test against India in 2000. However, five members of that squad-first Test – captain Naimur Rahman Durjoy, Akram Khan, Khaled Mashud Pilot, Manjurul Islam, and Al Shahriar Rokon – could not attend due to personal reasons.
The reunion programme was held as part of the week-long celebration of the 25 years of country’s Test status.
Various events across the country are currently going on to mark the biggest achievement of the cricket, including the Under-12 six-a-side tournament at divisional cities while there is a pacer and spinner hunt.
BCB hosted a heartfelt reunion to celebrate 25 years since the country gained Test status by attempting to bring all the men who laid the foundation of Bangladesh’s red-ball journey. The ceremony, led by the country’s first Test centurion and current BCB president Aminul Islam Bulbul, also brought together members of coaching staff to feature in the historic game.
“The first reason is celebrate 25 years of Test cricket while the other reason is to give a wake-up call as cricket seemed to have been in hibernation mode in many places of the country,” said Bulbul.
Habibul Bashar, who got a chance at the last minute, remembered the thrill of his call-up. “I wasn’t supposed to play. Aminul bhai called Shovon bhai to pass the message – we didn’t have phones then. I was just happy to tell myself that I’m going to be a Test cricketer,” the right-handed batter recalled.
© Cricbuzz
