Explore the rich history of cricket in Bangladesh from the 18th century, tracing its growth and cultural significance over the years
The history of cricket in Bangladesh predates the muse of the Bangladeshi nation in 1971 by almost two centuries. Cricket was brought to Bengal by using the British within the eighteenth century however its growth in East Bengal become sluggish. Following Partition and the creation of East Pakistan, each quality and Test cricket were played there throughout the Fifties and Nineteen Sixties. Although cricket endured to be popular after independence, specifically in Dhaka, the us of a lost excellent reputation and needed to establish itself in international opposition as an Associate Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
After winning the 1997 ICC Trophy and making an amazing showing on the 1999 Cricket World Cup, Bangladesh created its National Cricket League (NCL) in 1999–2000 to prepare the way for complete club of the ICC. This become granted in 2000 and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) changed into officially mounted. In November 2000, the Bangladesh country wide team performed its inaugural Test in shape against India on the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka.

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Bengal:
Cricket was first added into Bengal by using the British East India Company within the eighteenth century and the primary cricket matches recorded have been in Calcutta in 1792, however fits were likely played more than a decade earlier and the sport speedy achieved popularity in western Bengal and neighboring Bihar. In eastern Bengal, the place that is now Bangladesh, cricket evolved very slowly as the area did not attract huge numbers of European settlers until the second one half of the nineteenth century.
The troubles had been the region’s predominantly rural character and its loss of infrastructure given that it had severa rivers and travel turned into extraordinarily hard. The confluence of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra is in relevant Bangladesh and the coastal place includes the Sundarbans mangrove wooded area and the Ganges Delta. The British saw it as a far flung vicinity with few monetary incentives.
Improvement become sluggish and it changed into now not until the 1860s and 1870s that the British built the new roads that facilitated communication. Work become carried out to improve water materials, with a consequent increase to public fitness, and Europeans commenced to settle in Dhaka with cricket quickly becoming considered one of their favorite recreational activities, as had passed off elsewhere in India. In 1876, a European XI met and defeated a Native XVIII in Dhaka.
A crew consultant of Bengal performed towards G. F. Vernon’s XI, the first English team to go to the Indian sub-continent, in 1889–ninety. In January 1923, Bengal took part in the Nagpur Provincial Tournament with Bombay and a Central Provinces XI. In 1934, the Board of Control for Cricket in India organized the Ranji Trophy but Bengal did not take part in 1934–35.

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Bengal accomplished first-rate popularity in December 1935 once they performed the Australian tourists and were defeated by means of 9 wickets. In January 1936, Bengal joined the Ranji Trophy, gambling within the East Zone, and reached the semi-final wherein they misplaced to Madras. In 1937, Bengal have been runners-up and, in 1939, winners of the Ranji Trophy.
Throughout this period, Bengal was essentially a West Bengal group. They have been based totally in Calcutta and played all their matches at Eden Gardens. The earliest suit of note in Dhaka changed into in February 1941 whilst a Bengal Governor’s XI played the Bengal Gymkhana at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, then referred to as the Dacca Stadium.
With the Partition of British India in 1947, Bengal itself turned into partitioned with West Bengal final an Indian province and East Bengal turning into the jap wing of Pakistan. In 1955, the western wing became West Pakistan and East Bengal became the new province of East Pakistan.
The two wings were separated by means of a few 1,600 km (1,000 miles) of Indian territory and, in spite of their common faith of Islam, the ethnic and linguistic gulf between the two, compounded with the aid of an apathetic authorities based within the west, in the end resulted inside the independence of Bangladesh.
While Pakistani cricket become strong in the west, there has been no excellent cricket in East Bengal until the 1954–fifty five season.
East Pakistan
Between the 1954–55 and 1970–71 seasons, thirteen East Pakistan fine cricket groups played in Pakistan’s domestic cricket competitions, the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy and the Ayub Trophy. Many played in most effective a unmarried season or two. The maximum prolific have been East Pakistan (nine seasons), Dhaka University, East Pakistan Greens and East Pakistan Whites (three each).
Chittagong is a great instance of the sporadic manner in which teams from East Pakistan have been involved in the countrywide competitions as they have been scheduled to play 3 suits between 1959–60 and 1965–sixty six and all were abandoned without play starting. The foremost East Pakistan crew performed high-quality suits towards the journeying Indians in 1954–fifty five and Marylebone Cricket Club in 1955–56.
East Pakistan staged Test cricket from January 1955 while a healthy among Pakistan and India turned into allocated to the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka. The stadium turned into used for severa important fits which include Tests via the 1960s. The M. A. Aziz Stadium in Chittagong also dates again to 1954 as a quality venue however it changed into no longer used for Tests till Bangladesh played there in 2001.
Relations among East and West Pakistan have been aggravating seeing that Partition. East Pakistan changed into plunged into turmoil on 12 November 1970 whilst Cylone Bhola struck Bengal with full-size lack of lifestyles and devastating effect on the community and economic system. The Pakistani authorities, primarily based in West Pakistan, became roundly condemned for procrastination in its reaction to the crisis.
A few weeks later, when the us of a’s first general election changed into hung on 7 December, significant outrage inside the East ended in victory for the Awami League which was a Bengali nationalist birthday party under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. This caused an opening of talks between representatives of the East and West wings of Pakistan about the future of the usa’s charter below a countrywide authorities headed through the Awami League, and recommendations for the division of strength among the significant authorities and the provinces.
The talks have been unsuccessful in breaking a impasse and, on 1 March 1971, Pakistani President Yahya Khan indefinitely postponed the pending National Assembly consultation, precipitating big civil disobedience in East Pakistan. Three weeks later, Bangladesh officially declared its independence and the u . S . A . Was plunged into its liberation conflict which raged through 1971 till intervention by way of India, in help of the Bangladeshis, on three December 1971.
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 turned into short-lived and resulted in Pakistan’s capitulation on 16 December 1971, celebrated as Victory Day in Bangladesh, which turned into then set up as a new state.
The ultimate fine fit to be finished in East Pakistan changed into among a Pakistan Cricket Board XI and the traveling International XI in Dhaka from 26 February to one March 1971. It changed into drawn and its final day coincided with Yahya Khan’s suspension of the National Assembly, the movement which in the end caused the liberation warfare.
The International XI left Dhaka subsequent day for Lahore and played one further healthy there to cease their excursion. Two Quaid-i-Azam Trophy suits scheduled to be performed in Dhaka during March had been each cancelled because of the countrywide emergency.