Bangladesh wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim mocked Indian team’s semifinal loss to the West Indies yesterday.
After the defeat, the Bangladeshi player tweeted:
“Happiness is this….!!! #ha ha ha..!!!! India lost in the semifinal.”
In short for this Bangladeshi, the happiness is seeing ‘India lose’ not ‘Bangladesh win?’ In most ‘sane’ cases, happiness is winning laurels for the country, and not just being happy that someone else lost!
Was that jealousy considering Mahendra Singh Dhoni commands huge respect not just in India but in all cricketing quarters irrespective of nationalities and that he makes more money than him? Something that Mushfiqur Rahim can only dream of? Well! Considering the shallowness and crassness of his behavior he can kiss goodbye to any such dream. Mahendra Singh Dhoni did not become ‘The” Mahendra Singh Dhoni by acting jealous and insecure like Mushfiqur Rahim.
It is true that India lost but it is true that India won against several great teams. It also won against average teams too; like the impoverished cricket team of Bangladesh which despite years of playing cricket has been unable to match up to the strength of Sri Lanka, Pakistan or India. Perhaps, the quality of cricketers is not up to the mark or perhaps the cricketers are so busy running down others that they fail to practice properly in the nets?
If this does not worry anyone then does anyone remember the beheaded photo of Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the hands of Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed? Why would anyone put a ‘beheaded’ picture to make a point? Is beheading the latest ‘cool’ in Bangladesh cricketing circles? And why it was the Indian cricket team only and not any other team that has been attacked so viciously? We may not be ‘openly’ willing to admit that the religion of the majority in India is making Bangladeshi cricketers and their fans act in unsavory and unethical ways but the facts are for all to see.
As a society, Bangladesh is increasingly becoming radicalized and none can showcase it more collectively than what can be seen on the cricket field. Many perhaps would want to brush this problem yet again under the carpet because for a cricket fan nothing is more important than cricket itself. But does cricket evoke such hate? If it does then why does it not show when India or Australia, or, Pakistan or Bangladesh, play with each other? Even Taslima Nasreen, the exiled author, was aghast at the amount of love Pakistan gets from Bangladeshis. Of course, love for Pakistan does not necessarily mean hate for India, but in Bangladesh’s case, it could very well be true.
This is when Bangladeshi cricket team gets a lot of support not just from Indian cricket fans but from Indian commentators as well! So why are anger and hate directed at India from Bangladesh? Anger and hate may seem strong words, but they are still mere words, not pictures of a beheaded respectable athlete from the opposite camp.
Also, considering that this problem seems to arise only when India plays Bangladesh are the Indian cricket fans willing to acknowledge this? There is a limit to which Indian cricket fans should allow their athletes to be targeted.
Time to stand-up for the Men in Blue.
