Amid India-Bangladesh tensions, ex-player recalls help from Sachin, Ganguly

NEW DELHI: The past week was quite turbulent for the cricket world -- from Mustafizur Rahman being released by the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, to the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s decision not to send its team to India for the upcoming T20 World Cup, and now the ICC stepping in to reassure the BCB.Bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh have remained strained since the mass uprising in Bangladesh in 2024 that led to the removal of then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and the ripple effects are now being felt strongly in the sporting sphere as well.

Amid this ongoing tussle between the two neighbours, former Bangladesh batter Rajin Saleh revisited a significant moment from his career, recalling the ‘big’ support he received from batting legend Sachin Tendulkar and former India captain Sourav Ganguly.Saleh took fans down memory lane to the 2004 tour, when India visited Bangladesh for a Test and ODI series. The assignment proved memorable not just on the field but also for the camaraderie and guidance he experienced from two of Indian cricket’s biggest icons."I was struggling with the bat in that series. I scored two ducks in a Test match and then didn’t have a good outing in the ODIs either. I scored 14 and 0 in the first two matches.

I was feeling so down and dejected. My morale was completely low. That’s when I decided to speak to Sourav and Sachin," Saleh told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview."Ahead of the third ODI, I knocked on Sachin’s door and he welcomed me. I told him about my poor form. He smiled and gave me some tips. He told me how to stay mentally fit going into a game by burying past performances. He said when you walk off the ground after getting out, just leave that innings there and start afresh in the next match," Saleh said."Ganguly also came in at that moment and sat quietly, listening to what Sachin was telling me. Ganguly then said, ‘veer ki tarah khelo, yoddha bano’. He asked me to bat fearlessly at the crease. Those words really egged me on. In the next match, I scored in the 80s against India. I scored runs against top bowlers — Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh — in that game," he added."One is God (Sachin) and the other is one of the finest captains India has ever produced (Ganguly).

I truly admire them. I am grateful that I played against both those stars. Sachin is the god of cricket — I have witnessed that on the ground. The atmosphere was magical whenever he came out to bat. It was only Sachin, Sachin and nothing else. It was really hard to concentrate when he was batting," Saleh, who played 24 Tests and 43 ODIs between 2003 and 2008, said.Saleh currently serves as the national high-performance batting coach with Bangladesh cricket."I am currently coaching one of the teams in the BPL season. I am also coaching the Bangladesh senior team and working with the national high-performance setup. We miss playing against India. I played the Under-19 World Cup with Kaif, Yuvraj and many others, and I really miss competing against India."I even asked Yuvraj for bats on a couple of occasions. He took me to the dressing room and said, ‘le lo jo bhi bat chahiye’. He has such a big heart," Saleh signed off, leaving fans nostalgic.