Shakib, Team Bangladesh!

Let us say what we really want to say — we want Shakib Al Hasan as our prime minister, maybe even as the Chief Justice and not to mention the Chief Collector of Customs too. Let's face it, we have no record of our PMs delivering much but here is one man who has taken on the hopes of the nation and taken it to a level no one has before. He has given us reasons to be proud of as Bangladeshis. On the occasion of the World Cup which began by the warm-up thrash of Canada, let us show the honours to the one who deserves.

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I remember once interviewing one of the two ladies then out of power, about comparison between the two parties. She thought about it for a while and said, "We are good, they are bad. We want to serve the people, they want to loot the people. We are patriots, they want to serve their foreign master." When I mentioned to a friend from the other party, that this interview had been a bit of a meaningless exercise in terms of making sense, he said "the problem is that they don't understand we are good, they are bad. We want to help the people but they want to plunder the resources…". He went on and I thought this conversation would never end.

When it comes to the BNP or the AL, it is really like talking to the same person no matter where or who they are.

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Shakib is famous for making measured assessments. He never participates in hyperboles but says what he thinks are his strengths and mentions the opposition's weakness and capabilities too. He says if they can win a match or two they will move to the next round and then they can dream big. He takes the Bangladeshi people seriously and treats them with respect and intelligence but with aspirations too. The most important thing: he has delivered many victories and has done so with his team. He has shown he can take on the biggest opponent and win but when he loses, he doesn't give up his dignity. He doesn't even crave power.

When the Zimbabwe team won the first match and he was questioned why, he said he wants to focus on his playing and had been pushed into becoming a captain although he wasn't given any power to select his team. When his authority was restored he delivered splendidly.

Imagine a politician saying that he didn't want power but only wanted to serve and then proves it by doing so!

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We are, as a people, hungry for victories and pride. We have been so for long whether in cricket or politics. Sports have always been metaphorical space for political contests and mobilisation. In the sub-continent of pre-1947, football played this role for the Muslims through the Mohammedan Sporting Club (MSC) by winning trophies and leagues giving them something to be proud of. It enhanced communalism but it also provided identity to a people feeling marginalised.

The Caribbean people used cricket to find pride and self-confidence as documented in the book, Beyond a Boundary by CLR James. Indian movies that deal with sports and politics such as Chak de India, Laagan, are good examples of nation's search for self- confidence and worth.

When politics fail to inspire, sports serves as an alternative.

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Since independence, we hardly had any significant success that all can share. Our highest success has been in disposing bad rulers — dictatorial or democratic — to make way for another set of bad ones. Our leaders sound so much the same that we know what they will say even before they say it. But it's only in cricket that we have moved ahead with every year.

Just imagine the victory over Kenya that made us ICC champions. The nation wept in happiness. The victory over Pakistan in our first World Cup was extreme jubilation and it doesn't matter if it was "fixed" because that had nothing to do with us. The Test status made us feel we had reached the same level as many others and since then despite losses there were victories over India, Australia, New Zealand, England, etc.

And in the last three years, a flurry of victories including a series win over a depleted West India, Zimbabwe and a full strength New Zealand has given every Bangladeshi reasons to feel happy and proud.

They delivered largely under the leadership of Shakib.

For many of us who find it difficult to have confidence in politicians and can't find any reason to celebrate their existence, our cricket players are the new titans — the ones who not only promise but also deliver.

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So as we move into the World Cup phase — in which we may get blown away in the first round or we may do better — it really doesn't matter how well we do because our cricket team has tried its best with commitment, skills and confidence. They have carried us with them, given us reasons to believe that they can win and made us cheer for winners for a change.

So Shakib and his team, our very best wishes to you. No incentive is sufficient enough for what you have done for us.

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Afsan Chowdhury is a journalist and researcher.