Tigers return to heroes’ welcome

Bangladesh cricketers were given heroes’ welcome as they returned home on Sunday completing their World Cup campaign.Several thousand cricket fans gathered at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport much before the team arrived from Australia to greet them.Directors and officials of the Bangladesh Cricket Board received the Tigers amid cheers from the large crowd of enthusiastic supporters.The security in and around the airport were beefed up.The fans dressed in the Bangladesh jerseys and bandannas lined the road to welcome the Tigers. They carried placards with festoons delivering warm messages to their heroes.Every single person carried a smile, danced to the chants and looked proud of what their team has achieved – Bangladesh played the quarterfinals of the flagship tournament for the first time.But their faces also displayed anguish of missed opportunities. Several days have passed since Bangladesh played holders India in the second quarterfinal of the tournament. But the cricket fans here still find it difficult to forget the controversial decisions by the match officials in the game, which many think had let the Tigers down.

The supporters believed that if injustice had not been done to Bangladesh, they could have put up a strong resistance against the reigning world champions, if not win the game.There were many placards which manifested sentiments against the ICC (International Cricket Council) and BCCI (Board for Control of Cricket in India) accusing them of ruining the game.Ashiqur Rahman, a college student, carried a placard which said, ‘Save the Gentleman’s game.’ He said he was shocked by the decisions but not surprised.‘You are playing against India so you can never expect an even treatment and on top of that this was a World Cup game, they had to win it at any cost and by any means,’ said Ashiqur.The emotions and the sentiment however will ease off as time passes, more so if Tigers come up with brighter performances in the coming days.Bangladesh skipper Mashrafee bin Murtaza on his return thanked the supporters for their endless support.‘We know they remain with us through thick and thin,’ said Mashrafee.‘We are here because of them and hope to carry on with their support,’ he said.Bangladesh in year 2015 will play bilateral series against Australia, South Africa, India and Pakistan, all at home, and the country expects the Tigers to continue from where they left off in the World Cup and reach higher grounds.

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