Sharjah turns into mini-Mirpur

It was expected that Bangladesh and Sri Lanka would enjoy similar support from the crowd at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium today for their first Super 12 game in the ICC T20 World.

But as time went on, Bangladeshi supporters began to drown out the cheers from their Sri Lankan counterparts, with thousands of the red and green army creating an electric atmosphere.

Although Covid-19 restrictions meant that the Sharjah stadium's capacity of 27,000 was not fully used, that appeared to have little effect on Bangladeshi fans.

Every single run and wicket was cheered with huge enthusiasm and chants of 'Bangladesh, Bangladesh' were heard throughout the game, turning Sharjah into a mini-Mirpur.

The extreme heat and humidity did not deter fans either, as thousands piled into the stands and another five hundred or so loitered outside awaiting an opportunity to enter the stadium, similar to scenes at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur during any international series.

"We had big plans before the Super 12. The Bangladeshi community had arranged shuttle services for all the Tigers supporters for the game in Sharjah. The number could have been even higher than what you witnessed today (Sunday) but due to Covid-19 restrictions, the organisers didn't fill the stadium to capacity," said Yousuf Hasan, a Bangladeshi expat who traveled all the way from Abu Dhabi to Sharjah for the game. "We wanted to turn Sharjah into a mini-Mirpur with flags and banners and tried to outnumber the Sri Lankan fans."

With a huge number of Bangladeshi expats living the UAE, it was unsurprising to see the historic venue turn into a mini-Mirpur as Bangladesh's fans continued to leave their mark on another international event.