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The third and final match of the three-match Twenty20 international series between Bangladesh and Pakistan was a dead rubber as the visitors won the first two but there was an underlying flow of tension in the gallery due to various incidents in the previous games.
Processions were staged in front of the entry gates of Sher-E-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur to raise voices against some spectators who are from Bangladesh but supported the Pakistan cricket team during the previous games and waved the flag of Pakistan in the gallery.
Mirpur is a place that was liberated after the victory day, still dwelled by people who moved from India to then East Pakistan and now live in various camp areas.
Pakistan Fakhar Zaman, after winning the second T20I against Bangladesh told the media that he was not feeling like playing abroad as he felt at home while playing in Dhaka.
Fakhar was not wrong as he found a number of Pakistan flags being waved in the gallery and received much support from the crowd.
These incidents sparked many controversies in the mainstream and social media, especially some Bangladesh citizens posing as fans of Pakistan were highly criticised.
A group of people came with banners and held a procession against those who support Pakistan and waved Pakistan’s flag in Bangladesh.
The situation got tenser when a spectator, jumped from the gallery and dodged his way into the ground to touch Mustafizur Rahman, the Bangladesh pacer.
The players are inside a bio-secure bubble in this pandemic time and the BCB has allowed a crowd in the stadium for the first time in almost 20 months and the intrusion happened in the very second game, which forced both teams to take Covid-19 tests again and cancel their practice on Sunday.
Meanwhile, 40 members of the gentry, including leading journalists, university professors, parliament members, bureaucrats, and military officials, gave a joint statement demanding the stepping down of the State Minister for Sports and the BCB President.
As a result, security measures were heightened at the SBNCS circumference in Mirpur, and the increased number of security personnel on the street and in the galleries were visible.
Even a group of supporters also went to check the passports of some Pakistan fans wearing the jersey of Pakistan while coming to the match.
The Business Post talked to some of the Pakistan supporters who came to see the match, mostly females, who were looking tense as the crowd outside was a bit unusual, but they did not want to speak to the media regarding the issue.
A Pakistan supporter, who came from Cumilla where he is studying in a medical college, was trying to hide his Pakistan Jersey under his jacket when a few people tried to take pictures with him.
The match was a placid one until the dramatic last over but the tension was there in the gallery with so many elements in place for an explosion but luckily nothing broke out.
