History, climate, and the Bengali way of doing things conspire against a Bangladeshi presence in World Cup cricket.
More than a billion eyes are now glued on the Subcontinent, with the World Cup well underway. And with India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka jointly hosting the event, the quadrennial extravaganza has a truly South Asian feel to it. But, amid all the regional camaraderie on the playing field, what of Bangladesh?
It is a matter of chagrin for the millions of cricket-lovers of Bangladesh that for the sheer volume of their interest, their country is still not up to world class cricket. World Cup ´96 is nothing but a reminder of this harsh reality.
It has not helped that for many years Bangladesh has been dubbed the most promising young nation in the international arena of cricket. Their performance against fellow associate members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) over the years has been impressive, to say the least. In 1981, when Sri Lanka got their "Test-playing nation" status, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe (in that order) were singled out by the ICC as the next two probables for the elite group.