Cricket Grounds Taken Over by Football, Asif Akbar Furious

Popular Bangladeshi singer and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) director Asif Akbar has expressed anger over a shortage of grounds for cricket in the country. He alleged that football clubs in various districts are occupying stadiums, obstructing cricket activities.

Speaking at the Bangladesh Cricket Conference on Saturday, Asif said, “Our board president and some officials are connected with the BFF. Whenever someone is involved with a club, they want to run football, cricket, hockey—all of them. But the reality now is that cricket can’t be played for the footballers across the country. They destroy the wickets. This season the league in Comilla will be played on a mat wicket, like prehistoric-era cricket.”

He claimed that football clubs have occupied stadiums in almost every district, including Comilla. “On the 24th the Abahani–Mohammedan match will be held at Comilla Stadium. Even where there is no real football activity, football has occupied the ground. The behavior of the footballers is also very poor,” Asif said.

He urged that discussions be held with the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) to keep grounds available for cricket’s sake.

“I will tell our board president to meet with the BFF immediately. We don’t want to fight, but if necessary we will. Because our boys and girls must be able to play,” the BCB director added.

Appointed chairman of the age-group cricket committee, Asif warned that unless the ground shortage is resolved, grassroots cricket development will suffer.

“We have many age-group tournaments ahead—school cricket, talent hunts—everything depends on grounds. Without grounds we can do nothing,” he said.

Appealing to the National Sports Council (NSC), Asif recommended creating an annual calendar that allocates separate time slots for each sport—how many days for football, how many for cricket—so that clear rules reduce conflict.

Introducing himself as a “retired cricketer,” Asif added, “Cricket is a gentleman’s game, but I’m not that gentlemanly. If footballers resort to fighting, I will fight back. We do not want anyone’s money or kidney; we only want the right to play.”