Bangladesh lost both Tests and all three ODIs against South Africa and the Dhaka-based Daily Star's Shakil Kasem is convinced the team is fast approaching the status of Clown Princes.
Although, the captain and the team management spared no pains in informing anybody and everybody within earshot or to those who cared to listen anyway, that even 230 runs on the board would just about suffice to put the fear of god into the side batting second. This assertion was somewhat tempered by the time the second and third ODI came around, to how comfortable we were likely to be in the driver's seat if we just batted all of the 50 overs we were entitled to. The fact that in the end we could achieve neither only reinforced the belief that we are still struggling to perfect the art of chewing gum and crossing the street at the same time. Collective hara-kiri was given a new meaning as each batsman to a man devised newer and more ingenious methods of gifting wickets to the South African bowlers. Here is a group of returning tourists who are now firmly convinced Christmas in this part of the world comes twice a year. Here was oriental hospitality gone haywire for sure.
Just two days before his death, he wanted to take me and a few other teammates for a walk around the lake to calm us down after our fifth successive loss but later we decided to have tea outside the Dhanmondi ground.
"Never ever bow down" and "Cricket ends with the day. Tomorrow is a new beginning" were just some of the words I recall from that day. But most of us, CCS players, knew that he was one of those cricketers who hated to lose but he was also one who recovered from a loss very fast and moved on.
