Matters Around Us
South Asian cricket triumph
South Asian cricket has reached its zenith. The two teams that played in the final in the first 20 over tournament in South Africa were South Asians. The nerve-wracking India-Pakistan encounter, which has been described by all as a quality match reflecting a high standard of cricket, has shown the excellence of the two South Asian sides in this variety of sports.
Hot favourites mighty Australia were beaten by both India and Pakistan on the way to the final. Often dubbed as "Unbeatable," the Kangaroos had to swallow the bitter pill this time as they could not reach the final -- let lone win the cup.
The hosts, South Africa, too, were seen as likely winners of the tournament, the first of its kind, but were knocked out by India even before they could reach the semi-finals. England and West Indies, whose pride in cricket is well known, vanished much earlier. Rather paradoxically, the Caribbeans were shown the door by the youngest power in the South Asian cricket -- Bangladesh. Furthermore, all the four South Asian participants in the much hyped just-concluded tournament reached the "super eight" stage -- which even the West Indians failed to do.
Being in the "super eight," India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were engaged in several matches and, in the process, they generated interest worldwide for quite a few days, regardless of victories and defeats. Last but not the least, both India and Pakistan sent relatively younger players under new skippers and, as such, were seen by many as non-starters.
Most cricket pundits had written them off, and Australia and South Africa were predicted as potential winners. The English media even saw the chances of their team as bright, while New Zealand were also seen as a power to reckon with.
However, some people did forecast good performances by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, but they had seen these teams reaching, at best, the semi-final level, barring accidental success. But such predictions were belied, and it was the story of a South Asian triumph in the new version of the game that evoked tremendous interest and excitement in the cricket world.
Not only have two regional countries had the unique and rare honour of playing in the final, they also presented high-class cricket. The nail-biting finish was worth of a finale of a big world-sporting event.
Spectators in the ground, and millions glued to television sets across the world, had to wait till the last ball, since fortune swung from one side to other. The victory could have gone either way and, fittingly, the Indians were the champions.
But the bottom line is that it was an all South Asian affair. To my knowledge, never before had two nations from this region been involved in the final of any big cricket tournament at global level. As such, this has been the finest hour for South Asian sports.
Gone are the days when India and Pakistan used to steal the show in another discipline -- hockey -- which they had dominated for long. They are now largely a shadow of themselves as European and others have made inroads, relegating the South Asians to much a lower level. But the unexpected success in 20 over cricket has taken South Asian sports to a new height of pride. Unquestionably, all in the region were ecstatic and jubilant when India won the trophy and Pakistan became runners-up.
We in Bangladesh also rejoiced at this great success. Our own team played reasonably well, but could have done much better had they demonstrated greater sense of responsibility and seized the opportunities that came their way.
This triumph sends a strong message to all the South Asian nations that they can do it even where they are not expected to accomplish much. True, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka had earlier won the World Cup in cricket. But the 20-20 match is the shortest version of the game, and the new experiment has been called as a great success by the organisers. In the recent years, South Asian have not succeeded in excelling much in cricket. But the latest success has undoubtedly made the region proud.
In others areas -- like politics and intellectual pursuits -- this part of the world, now known as South Asia, has achieved many laurels. Poet Rabindranath Tagore won the Nobel Prize way back in 1913. Illustrious sons like Prof. Abdus Salam, Amartya Sen and Prof. Muhammad Yunus followed in recent times.
Two countries of the region -- India and Pakistan -- have even acquired atomic power, which is definitely a rarity in the world -- albeit controversy surrounds the nuclear capability. The economy of the region is also progressing collectively.
But, in stark contrast, we have failed in many crucial areas, and this incapability has put the South Asians in negative perspective both nationally and internationally. This is because of the unfortunate failure in eliminating poverty, rooting out corruption, and providing good governance, which are inextricably linked with the welfare of the vast multitude living in the region, most of whom are mired in abject poverty.
South Asian nations suffer from these failures in varying degrees, and there is no iota of doubt about this. We could not develop a real cooperative system for collective welfare in the true sense of the term, even though Saarc is providing some service in this problem-ridden region.
The reasons for our inability to achieve the desired objectives are linked more with sincerity, honesty and sense of purpose than resource constraints and other reasons. A happy and healthy society for larger segment of the people remains a far cry. Much of the euphoria, like the triumph in World Cup cricket, is meaningless unless we can accomplish the basic goal of socio-economic betterment of larger section of people.
Individual nations of South Asia may not be on the same plane on this account, but the scenario is not much different as far as the plight of common people is concerned. All these can be achieved with a strong will, and there is no alternative. South Asia can collectively attain this, given the determination and sense of purpose witnessed in the cricket tournament in South Africa.
Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury is the Chief Editor of the BSS news agency.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments