DHAKA, Aug 21, 2019 (BSS) – The Bangladesh people’s utmost passion for
the cricket attracted Russell Domingo to such extent that he didn’t have
second thought to make the country as his home.
While announcing Russell Domingo as the head coach for the national
team, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan Papon said
the South African’s enthusiasm to supervise the Tigers was the key reason
behind his selection ahead of others.
If there is any doubt regarding Papon’s statement on Domingo, the newly
appointed coach’s first official press conference with Bangladeshi media
quelled it completely.
The former South African coach himself said that he saw a massive
passion of Bangladeshi people towards the cricket that brought him here in
fact.
Domingo got the first-hand experience of how cricket-crazy the nation is
when he visited Bangladesh for the first time in 2004. After that he toured
here six more times and every time saw the passion of Bangladeshi people
enhanced for the cricket.
According to his own version, he didn’t see such type of enthusiasm for
cricket anywhere in the world and in South Africa it is beyond the
imagination.
“I think it’s the seventh time I have been to Bangladesh, the first time
I was here during the Under-19 World Cup in 2004, which was a long time ago,”
Domingo said here on Wednesday.
“The thing that strikes me each time is exactly this, the number of
people that are interested in Bangladesh cricket. I’m from South Africa
where, if you get to a press conference for a big game, there may be eight to
nine reporters. I’ve never seen this many reporters in my life. I got to the
airport and there were so many cameramen, it was crazy,” he remarked.
“So the passion has always struck me, about Bangladesh cricket. You
always see people dressed up in tiger suits, the supporters at the ground,
there’s definitely massive support for the team. That’s probably what
attracted me to this part of the world,” Domingo concluded.