Arafat Rahman Koko: Forgotten hero in developing Bangladesh cricket

Even in difficult times, some events happen, which, considering the time and place, become a sign of good fortune. Bangladesh cricket got such a sign through late Arafat Rahman Koko, the youngest son of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia.

In early 2000s when Bangladesh's  cricket had not yet gained such a reputation in the world cricket, country's cricket suddenly came back to life at the Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogura after Bangladesh stunned  the world by defeating the cricket superpower like Sri Lanka in 2006.

After getting recognition of the international stadium, a total of 5 one-day matches were held in this stadium, of which Bangladesh won 4. The stadium became a blessing for Bangladesh cricket and for cricket fans and credit should be given to Arafat Rahman Koko who took the initiative to build the stadium.

Despite being in power, Koko set a unique precedent by naming the only international-standard stadium in Bogra after freedom fighter Shaheed Chandu instead of martyred President Ziaur Rahman. Shaheed Chandu was also a member of the Bogura district football team. The stadium has been named after Shaheed Chandur to keep his memory alive.

Not only that Just as Koko depoliticized cricket during his tenure as the Bangladesh Cricket Board from 2002 to 2005, he also set a unique precedent in Bangladesh by working with opposition leader Saber Hossain Chowdhury.

According to the rules of the Cricket Board, the government could have made whoever it wanted the president of the board. So, if he had used his power to the fullest extent, he could have become the president of the board. But instead, he took on the responsibility of the chairman of the development committee under the board and radically changed age-group cricket.

The youngest son of Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia, Arafat Rahman Koko rarely showed interest to join politics, though his elder brother Tarek Rahman was involved in party politics.

But Political vengeance as the main reason behind the untimely demise of Arafat Rahman Koko, though he had no involvement in politics. On January 24, 2015, Koko died of cardiac arrest at the age of 45 at a rented house in Malaysia.

 "It is said that no international game has been played here (Saheed Chandu Stadium) for 19 years only due to political vendetta.

You will notice that the stadium, which is dedicated to the memory of the late Arafat Rahman Koko, does not have the name of anyone from the Zia family. But why should the political issue come here? Sports in Bangladesh are not developing properly today because of mixing political issues with sports. In this case, I think discrimination or neglect has been happening against the people of Bogura." Vetaran sports journalist Shamim Chowdhury who is currently head of development and recharch of T Sports told Asian Age.

Koko was a big fan of cricket. As the son of the then Prime Minister, he had the chance to use the highest authority to develop Bangladesh cricket.
He maximized that opportunity as an advisor of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) from 2002 to 2005. He played a role in decentralizing the country's cricket. Instead of centralizing the country's cricket in Mirpur and Chattogram, Koko planned to build international-standard stadiums in Sylhet, Khulna, Bogura and Rajshahi.

He planned for the long time development of Bangladesh Cricket and advised to develop a game development programme for BCB. Today's star
performers like Sakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal have all come through that development programme.