Akbar Ali, who led Bangladesh Under-19 team was welcomed in Mirpur following their outstanding World Cup win in South Africa. By beating India Under-19 in the final, which was played last Sunday in Potchefstroom, Bangladesh Under-19 has achieved the crowning point.
On Wednesday around 5 p.m. local time the Bangladesh team arrived in Mirpur. At Airport the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) also arrived who was hosting a huge reception. Along with other board officials and government officials, Nazmul Hassan, the BCB president received the set of players at the airport.
Afterward, they moved towards the Shere-e-Bangla National Stadium Where Akbar and Nazmul had a press conference.
Akbar and his teammates watched thousands line up on their way at one side of the highway, as plenty of fans on bikes were waving national flags and they followed the team.
The Team Was Welcomed Grandly
There were pick-up trucks with a large number of people and hundreds of bikes, cheering the World Cup winners by holding posters and banners.
A larger crowd was waiting for them around 6.30 p.m. when the players reached the gate of the National Stadium. The voice of “Bangladesh! Bangladesh! Bangladesh! was echoing through the area.
Akbar did a cake cutting and the celebrations end with the fireworks bursting in the air.
The President of the BCB also announced during the press conference that the victorious Under-19 cricketers will be enrolled in the board’s new Under-21 program to enhance their skills and train them for international cricketing.
During the two years of this training, each player will be paid BDT 100,000 (around $1,250) per month.
When the press conference was over, Akbar moved to Rangpur where last week his sister was passed away. It is also said that Next week at the Soharwardy Uddayan, the players are expected to have a grand reception with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who will host the players.
