Green jerseys have flooded several parts of Calcutta.
One in every five people on Marquis Street wore a green jersey on Friday, names written on the backs of many. Sajid stood at a store that sells mobile SIM cards. Apurbo ordered tea at a roadside stall. Tanvir stood outside a currency exchange store.
On the eve of Bangladesh’s first match at the Eden Gardens in the ongoing ICC Men’s World Cup, cricket fans from the neighbouring country are buzzing around Marquis Street, Sudder Street and the surrounding areas of Esplanade and New Market in central Calcutta, donning the colour of their national cricket team.
The area, dotted by a string of hotels and guest houses, eateries and currency exchange agents, hosts a large number of Bangladeshi visitors to the city on any given day.
A steady stream of Bangladeshis visit Calcutta through the year, many of them for medical reasons.
But the numbers have surged since Thursday evening. And unlike at other times, almost every Bangladeshi who is here now has come drawn by the lure of cricket.
The Tigers, as the Bangla cricketers are lovingly called by supporters, may be limping after four losses in five matches played so far, but their fans are still roaring.
“I have never seen a match at the Eden Gardens. Watching Bangladesh play a World Cup match at the iconic stadium is an opportunity that I could not have missed,” said Mufrit Johani Swaccho, 25, standing outside a hotel on Marquis Street.
(From left) Md Sujan and wife Meharunissa Mim, Nazmus. Sama and husband Wadud Khaled have come from Bangladesh to watch their country's cricket clash with The Netherlands at the Eden Gardens on Saturday.
Swaccho, who is pursuing electrical and electronics engineering at North Western University in Khulna, feels the Bangladesh top order is responsible for the lacklustre performance.
He has come with a group of five.
Besides newbies, there were veterans. “Harleo Bangladesh, jitleo Bangladesh (victory or defeat, it is Bangladesh),” said Md Asaduzzaman, a member of Bengal Tigers Fan Club, the formal fan club of the national cricket team.
A former club cricketer himself, Asaduzzaman was part of a group of 25 that has been travelling with the team across India for the World Cup. Before coming to Calcutta, the group saw the Tigers in action in Dharamshala, Pune and Mumbai. They only missed the Chennai game.
Asaduzzaman’s association with the Eden Gardens began a decade before Bangladesh’s World Cup debut.
“I came to Eden for the first time during the Nehru Cup (1989-90). I was on the stands in the Hero Cup semi-final (1993),” he said.
Asaduzzaman is relaxed about Saturday’s match against the Netherlands. The real test, he said, will be on October 31, when Bangladesh takes on Pakistan.
His group will be in Calcutta for both matches.
Rasheduzzaman Rakib and his wife Nigar Sultana, from Bangladesh, in Calcutta on Friday.
Ditto for Khurshed Alam, a supporter who is almost synonymous with the national cricket team, like India’s Sudhir Kumar and Pakistan’s Mohammad Basheer.
Alam, fondly called Alamgir, has put up at a guesthouse on Royd Street and was on his way to Eden to see the Tigers practise when Metro met him. “With some fine-tuning, the team will run like a
smooth car,” said Alam, who wore a green jersey and a Tiger cap.
Many hotels in the Marquis Street area said they witnessed a surge in bookings between October 26 and November 1.
“We have bookings for 31 rooms till November 1. We are expecting around 100 people,” said an employee at The Mark Hotel near Jamuna Banquets on Marquis Street.
A bus operator, which runs a direct service between Dhaka and Calcutta, said three buses leave Dhaka every day. “On Thursday, all the buses from Dhaka seemed packed by cricket fans,” said a man at an office of the operator on the same road.
Bangladesh is a cricket-crazy nation and the fans are extremely vocal on social media. The supporters are known for making aggressive and opinionated posts that often trigger a virtual fight.
The team came to India riding very expectations and the insipid on-field performance has made the fans more divided. There are two camps — one still backing the team and the other pulling no punches.
The difference between the virtual and real seemed blurred on Friday.
“I feel aghast. There was so much hope, so much anticipation. These players have let us down and how. A defeat is still acceptable. But the inability to put up a fight is shameful. The coach and captain are responsible,” said Md Sujan.
Sujan and Wadud Khaled, both employees of an American software company, are in Calcutta with their wives for the two matches at Eden.
YouTuber Rasheduzzaman Rakib and his wife Nigar Sultana were in the opposite camp.
“Some other teams like Pakistan and England have also failed. But for some reason, Bangladesh’s performance is being scrutinised much more. We need to back the team,” said Rakib, a die-hard fan of Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh captain.