Did Bangladesh ‘lose’ before the match?

Bangladesh cricket team has a rich experience of playing cricket in different parts of the world. Some of the senior cricketers in the team have no country where cricket is played and they have not gone. However, Shakib Al Hasan-Mahmudullah Riyadh has a new experience in this year’s Caribbean tour. To put it simply, the Bangladesh cricket team has a horrible, bitter experience. Russell Domingo’s disciples arrived in Dominica from St. Lucia at great risk to their lives! This will be the first two matches of the three-match T20 series.
Plane or bus – the main accompaniment to the venue journey from venue to venue in a country tour. Apart from this, the cricketers of Bangladesh team had no experience of riding in any other vehicle. The Tiger cricketers had to travel by ferry from St. Lucia to Dominica! That too again about 5 hours long! On Thursday morning, local time, the C-cruise of Parle Express left for Martinek with Team Bangladesh from Castris Ferry Terminal. West Indies Cricket offered to use the sea route to St. Lucia when finalizing the series schedule. Which is also accepted by Bangladesh Cricket Board-BCB.
Team Bangladesh does not have 5 hours experience by sea. The sea was rough because of the cyclone two days ago. The height of the wave was 6 to 8 feet. The cricketers started to suffer from motion sickness one after the other due to the big swing of the ferry. Shariful Islam, Nurul Hasan and manager Nafis Iqbal became more ill. Martinez spoke to the board officials under pressure from the cricketers during the break, but due to lack of time, flight tickets were not arranged. So the Tigers were forced to cross the rest of the road at the risk of their lives. The ferry carrying the Tigers arrived in Dominica on Thursday afternoon local time. It also raises questions about the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) tour plan. Amidst the discussion, Nizamuddin Chowdhury Sujan, chief executive officer of the board, said, “The cricketers who have reached their destination safely are doing well.” Especially, for some players. The cricketers have been in touch with me since last night. They arrived just in time. Now everyone is fine. I have talked to the physio (Bayazidul Islam). If sleep is good, there will be no issues before the game. You will also get a chance to practice.
A few days ago there was a cyclone in that part of the Atlantic. That is why there were big waves in the sea. He blamed bad weather for creating such a dire situation, saying, ‘Unfortunately this happened due to bad weather. This would not have happened if the weather had not been bad. You have seen that many players have enjoyed the journey. And when they started, everyone was very enthusiastic. But suddenly they get motion sickness in the middle of the ocean. Since our cricketers do not have such experience.
The cruise ship, which set sail from St. Lucia, reached Martini in an hour and a half. Then there was a 40 minute break. Sick and scared, the cricketers wanted to fly the rest of the way. However, as the island of Martinique was under French control, it was not possible to obtain a visa so quickly. The CEO said, ‘Halfway through, they called me after I reached Martini. From there he was asked to arrange for an alternative route to Dominica. Then I contacted the officials of the West Indies Cricket Board. But they said it would not be possible for Martini to make any other arrangements. Because, Martinique is included in France. There are various types of paperwork. It will not be possible to resolve them quickly.
Asked about the role of the BCB, he said, “Another question is, why did the BCB accept the offer of a ferry ride?” The fact is that the host country finalizes the plan of the tour. We told them our fears from the beginning. I have also talked to them about this. The problem, however, was that since all the members of the two teams had to make arrangements to go together, a large chartered flight was needed. They could not or could not arrange it. Many large chartered flights have been shut down since the coronavirus. They assured us that there would be no problem. In this way people regularly travel by ferry. Moreover, the West Indies team and match officials have gone the same way. But such a situation has been created due to bad weather.
Along the way, many cricketers reacted angrily to the arrangement. Nizamuddin sees this as normal, ‘Many of the players reacted immediately. This is very normal. When such a dangerous situation arises, it is normal for such a reaction to occur. Hopefully, everything will be fine if you rest. And what the physio told me was that some players had problems because they didn’t sleep well the night before. Even if the stomach is full again, there is a problem. Medication may not have been followed properly. But these are not excuses. It has been a bad experience for our players. ‘
Within a day (Bangladesh time tonight at 11:30 pm) the team will take the field in the first T20 of the series. It remains to be seen how much the Tigers can adapt in this short time. With the exception of one day, at the end of the second T20, we will have to return to Guyana, the venue of the third match. Bangladesh will not lose before the match thinking about that!