ICC and the Upcoming Election

The ICC decision, unjust and illegal, is the first challenge facing us. The country must respond with complete unity. 

Mustafizur Rahman was threatened with violence simply because he was a Bangladeshi and we, in our millions, must take on this identity. We don’t need Pakistan, we are strong enough on our own as long as we pull together.

Our cricketers will suffer the most over this difficult period which is why they must receive full sympathy and financial support. If this means that we forfeit participation in the 2026 World Cup (as has now transpired) so be it. There will be another opportunity in 2 years.

We should treat this break as an opportunity to rally our cricketing strength. Truth to tell, one reason we have been dismissed in such a cavalier manner by other cricketing nations is because we have not yet deserved a place in the upper ranks.

The only way to earn respect from our sporting opponents is to instill fear in them and prove that our players (men, boys, women and girls) are genuine tigers who can win in any environment.

The Australian team recently retained the Ashes not by technical excellence but because they had the moral discipline to out-bowl, out-bat, out-catch, out-captain, out-wicketkeep and out-field the English. The only thing any side has complete control over is to play with a higher level of determined effort than its competitors.

Bangladesh is today developing a promising group of bowlers and there are signs of consistent batters emerging too. Perhaps our cricketing community could respond to the sting of enforced isolation by using the time to create the fighting spirit, teamwork and intense practice habits of the best teams.

In the next tournament Bangladesh should aim to be one of the contenders for the title! No one can then keep us out.

It so happens that we are now facing another great challenge and once again psychological factors are going to be paramount in shaping Bangladesh’s response. Heading into the crucial pre-election period all the political parties expect to battle each other, setting up a natural tendency towards disunity.

Yet they must stop short of creating ineradicable conflict. This is the delicate balance that has to be established in democracy. Making political arguments sharply and forcefully is one thing but these must not cross the line into outright enmity.

Despite the centrifugal tendencies which prevail during any general election the country must ensure that its fundamental unity remains untouched.

We already have real enemies who are openly threatening to prevent the elections. So it is vital that political disagreements not be expressed in the language of hatred or unbounded solutions.

Our politicians and leaders must understand that once the votes have been counted and positions of authority handed out, the nation as a whole has to function in a cooperative manner.

This should be all the more possible because these requirements are perfectly in tune with what I believe to be our basic cultural tendencies: toleration, behaving kindly even when competing, appreciating the other’s merits, grateful to be part of a cheerful, blended reality.

These are the ideals of the Sufi missionaries and the Baul singers, of Robi Thakur and Kazi Nazrul, which form such a special part of Bangladesh’s spiritual and imaginative spectrum. Extremism of any kind, whether of religious zealotry or that of the Awami League’s blind, stubborn arrogance have to be shunned.

Look what we have achieved when we are at our best. I think of the July days when in the blink of an eye a true revolving of the orb (hence ‘revolution’) took place. Those who were suffering at the bottom of the wheel were cycled to the top, and vice versa!

We must forever remember the sacrifices of the masses and the example of the young people who led the way to freedom with unbelievable bravery and resolute will. There is no better way to build unity of the nation at a deep level, despite all surface differences.

Salahdin Imam expects to publish a memoir this year titled Hyperlife: From Hippie to Guerrilla 1966-71.