Bogura: A rich pilgrimage of Bangladesh cricket

Most of the Bangladesh cricket fans of this generation can't remember when an international cricket match was held at the Shaheed Chandu stadium in Bogura. Due to long absence of international cricket in Bogura, there is no buzz among the local people about when an international cricket match will be held at this stadium either. Bogura's people seem to have forgotten Shaheed Chandu Stadium is yet the third Test venue in the country

History shows that Shaheed Chandu Stadium was built in Bogura city in 1962. Since 1970, various local tournaments including football and cricket were played there. However, in 2003, the foundation stone of the stadium's sports complex was laid for the first time by the then Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia. A year later, the stadium began operations ahead of the Under-19 World Cup match. 

Despite the ICC's recognition for hosting international matches in Bogura, some BCB officials have been accused of vengefully not hosting matches here to erase the name of BNP from this field.

From Mushfiqur Rahim and almost all the cricketers of the national team to legendary cricketers like Pakistan captain Wasim Akram, former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene, and Kumar Sangakkara heaped praise this stadium. West Indian World Cup winning captain Clive Lloyd came to the stadium at the beginning of its construction and said, 'This will be the best stadium in Bangladesh.'

It seems that no stadium in the country has received such a good response. But all the negligence is from the BCB. Yet the BCB has always surprised with its short-sighted decision to build new stadiums instead of renovating the old ones. Who will convince the BCB officials that such actions are an example of a lack of professionalism?

"You know that Bogura is the center of 16 districts of North Bengal, including Rangpur and Rajshahi. If an international cricket match or BPL match is held in Bogura, the people of North Bengal will benefit a lot. It takes three and a half hours to reach Bogura from Panchagarh. The surrounding districts are also close to Bogura. But it takes more than 10 and half hours to reach Dhaka from Panchagarh. If a person comes to Bogura with the desire to watch international cricket match, he can enjoy the game here at a very low cost. His maximum cost will be 300-400 taka." Khaled Mahmud Rubel, Bogura District Sports Association convening committee member told Asian Age.

"The Chandu Stadium in Bogura has advanced and international standard indoor, practice wickets, outer stadium and more facilities and when the local cricketers enjoy these facilities, the tide of cricket will flow in this region along with producing more cricketers. Only due to the construction of an international stadium here, we have been able to produce many boy and girl cricketers from here." He said. 

Moreover, many would like the venue with the location and less traffic. The city is only 185 kilometres from Dhaka, with modern hotels such as Momo Inn and Hotel Naz Garden available for international cricketers. Bogura is also well connected to the greater Rajshahi-Rangpur region. The stadium has also ability to arrange day-night match. Cricketers can use its indoor facilities in rainy season. 

"There is no problem with accommodation here. The only problem was that there was no airport here. But now the work on the new airport is almost complete. I think once this airport is completed, we will have no more obstacles. We do not need any renovations on the outfield or pitch. I hope that by renovating the dressing room, VIP gallery, media center and gallery, it will be possible to bring international games back here very soon." He said. 

Yet, the people of this region have been deprived of the chance to watch international cricket for years. Surely, the newly restructured BCB must now turn its attention to this stadium.