Testing Times

Traffic in Dhaka must be the worst in the world during peak hours. Not surprising since the city holds the record for most cyclerickshaws in the world. But now these and autorickshaws, we are told, will soon be taken off the streets and replaced by taxis. Indeed the 'yellow cabs' in Dhaka put our jaunty jalopies back home to shame. The drive from the Zia airport to our hotel near the Bangabandhu National stadium—no more than 20 km—takes over two hours in the evening rush. That apart, Bangladesh comes across as a completely cricket-crazy nation. The game, over the last few years, has overtaken football in the popularity stakes and is today the number one sport in the country. A nation of 160 million is indeed a huge new market for the cricket world. But does the country deserve Test status? The debate has been raging for some months now and continues on the eve of the Dutch-Bangla Bank inaugural Test. The general consensus is that though the Kenyan team is stronger, Bangladesh has the infrastructure and the following which Kenya lacks. Still, what every Indian journalist is busy speculating on is how long the Test will last. By common consensus, five full days is ruled as out of the question.