Bangladesh is not able to do well even though there is sponsorship in cricket. Photo: AFPNo, Bangladesh did not do well in World Cup cricket. Since 2007, Bangladesh has played in the circle of three in four consecutive World Cups. There were three wins in four World Cups. The mission was to break that circle. But it did not succeed; Rather, it has declined. Instead of three wins two! Bangladesh won only with Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. Bangladesh lost the remaining matches unilaterally.
The most talked about loss was against the Netherlands. This defeat paints a picture of a gutless team. Batting with a target of 230 runs, Bangladesh could not even compete against the Dutch. Cricket analyst and commentator Harsha Bhogle threw a question to the fans of Bangladesh after Glanimakha’s loss. Harsha has been following Bangladesh cricket for a long time. If Bangladesh does well, he has been praised many times. From the experience of following Bangladesh cricket regularly, Harsha put a question to the fans on social media X, ‘Bangladesh has to ask itself some difficult questions. According to you Bangladeshi fans after the batch of Shakib, Mushfiq and Tamim and truly world class.
Has the player arrived?’
What is the reason for suddenly Hersher to ask this question? Maybe this cricket analyst does not think Liton Das and Nazmul Hossain are world class yet. Liton made his debut in international cricket in 2015. Liton could not be consistent even after playing international cricket for a long time. He was a big source of hope for Bangladesh in this year’s World Cup as well. But he could not do his work properly. He raised hopes by scoring half-centuries in two matches. But he could not convert those two innings into a big hundred.
Nazmul made his debut in the national team in 2017. Nazmul has been a regular in the XI for a long time. But he failed ‘ultimately’ in this World Cup. Nazmul, who scored a fifty in the Afghanistan match, did not do well in the subsequent matches; Which has affected the whole team. Mehdi Hasan Miraj, who played regularly in the Bangladesh team for seven years, could not do much in this World Cup. The fans of Bangladesh were expecting great things in the World Cup, relying on the cricketers like Touhid Hriday, Taskin, Mostafiz etc. But they all failed.
Former Pakistani fast bowler Wasim Akram also criticized the Bangladesh team. He said, ‘Bangladesh has been playing Tests for more than 20 years. Bangladesh could not do average performance. Before coming to the World Cup, I heard about many problems, I don’t know what is the politics behind it, what is the reason? The country should be put first. Personal likes and dislikes and distance between themselves will come later.’
Akram added, ‘I’m not saying they should win the World Cup. But at least the big teams should fight hard. Need to find a new batter. Everyone should sit down and decide how first-class cricket will be played, on which wicket.’
We currently have no other gift in cricket than to be stung by criticism. Will it be possible for anyone cricket-related in this country to learn ‘real lessons’ from these criticisms, despite being mired in one failure after another? If not possible, nothing but utter disappointment will come from the national cricket team in the near future.
We are not progressing or cannot progress in cricket. This is a disappointing aspect. But first of all it is necessary to remember that the country does not move forward with cricket. The name of the country is huge. The country advances in education, research, innovation. The saddest part for us is that we are not progressing in education, research, innovation; Rather, I am falling behind day by day.
It is impossible to advance education without research and the country without education. Research is highly valued in all countries of the world. But we value research the least. Even in universities, research is not considered a major subject.
174 crores have been allocated in the main budget for the financial year 2023-24 for the research of UGC and public universities in higher education. Compared to the last year, the allocation for this sector in the budget has been increased by Tk 24 crore. In the revised budget for the financial year 2022-23, an allocation of Tk 150 crore was considered for the research sector.
A look at the budgets of the best schools in the country will make this clear. A budget of Tk 913 crore 89 lakh 87 thousand has been announced for Dhaka University in the financial year 2023-24. Only 15 crore 5 lakh taka has been allocated for research in the budget, which is 1.64 percent of the total expenditure. A review of the budget shows that most of it will be spent (68.29 percent) on the salaries and allowances of teachers-officers-employees.
This is the picture of expenditure allocation in the research sector in higher education in our country. Some money has been caught in Dhaka University, there are many public and private universities, where no money is allocated for research! The case of not keeping any allocation for research sector in higher education is probably the first in Bangladesh. Because the work of the university is the search for new knowledge and information.
But how will these universities create new knowledge as they do not have any allocation in the research sector? The basic function of universities is to conduct research. Research is what differentiates universities from other educational institutions (primary-secondary-college). Although world-class universities give priority to research, here we have the opposite picture.
Although most of the countries in the world do not play cricket, Bangladesh is among the top 10 countries in the world that play cricket. But what is there in math, science research? What about number theory, physics, optics, metamorphic rock or earthquake research? We have no position and achievements in international arena except cricket. Not even in the entertainment world.
Whatever our position in the world of entertainment or sports, there are no major regrets. Because we as a nation will not be able to reach the limit of improvement or deterioration! We feel sorry for the academicians, who are involved in the world of higher education, engaged in teaching and research in universities or institutes. They have the opportunity to make a mark on the international stage.
Let’s divide each academic subject into 8-10 main sections. such as physics. Its components can be optics, sound, static electricity, etc. Areas of mathematics can be topology, algebra, number theory—etc. Where exactly is the place of researchers in Bangladesh?
The brightest part of our highly educated students go abroad. A small part for higher education, and most for the desire of a better, richer life. By investing huge amounts of money in higher education, we have been gifting America and some other countries year after year with some finished products, which are being used for their economic and social development.
And with a few exceptions, we have produced for us mostly mediocre researchers, who are unable to play any significant role in making knowledge ‘productive’. Much of what is being spent on research is nothing but waste. As there is no allocation for research in our country, there is also no proper regulation and guidance on who will do research on what.
But for the welfare of the country, we should give more importance to education and research. There is a need to retain the brightest part of the students who want to move abroad or arrange to bring them back home in time; At least among those who want to be in the world of higher education and research. It may not be that all those who move abroad are very good. But bringing back those who are really good should be considered. These very good ones who can make a mark in the international arena, should be given more mines and facilities, if necessary, than what they would get if they were abroad.
It should be remembered that research is inextricably linked with education. Education without research can never give desired results.
Author: Researcher, columnist
