Can you remember Oldrich Swab, the Swiss coach?

No, it’s not your fault if you can’t remember the football coach, at all. You may not even know his name as the guy doesn’t carry a prolific profile.

If you google his name, the primary findings will show him as a former football coach of Bangladesh, not much of that.

Read one paragraph from such a google search: Oldrich Swab, the Swiss coach, was the writer of one of the most tragic tales of Bangladesh football history. In 1993 Bangladesh hosted the SAF Games and Swab was in charge of the football team. But Bangladesh even failed to qualify for the semi-finals.

The story now I am going to tell you was published as a “one-slip” news item in a daily after Bangladesh’s dream was shattered in the SAF Games like that of Brazil in this World Cup. Local football was still a matter of discussion at that time and that is the reason still many people can remember the story.

As the memory goes, the story without sourcing mentioned that Swab was seen in busy Farmgate in the capital after the tournament was over. Suddenly a young man rushed to him and showed the gold chain seen through the open buttons of the shirt Swab was wearing.

“This is your gold, where is our gold?” the man shouted at an apparent annoyed Swab.

The story ended there and as it had no sourcing it can be assumed that the incident happened in front of the reporter himself, or herself.

The incident might have been a true piece or a part of yellow journalism.

No matter whatever it is. Even if it is not real, domestic football was still such a major concern for sports fans that the question was of millions at that time.

Repeat the question: This is your gold, where is our gold?

So the question now is: World cup of the world is over. What is the preparation for our world cup?

We have a world cup in seven months that begins on the Valentine’s Day or our Pahela Falgun on February 14, 2015. But, we are in a mess over our main player, Shakib Al Hasan.

If we consider that Shakib’s six-month suspension came into effect from the day of “historic” proclamation by the BCB boss, he can play cricket from the second week of January next year. If it comes into effect after BCB issues a letter upon him, the moratorium will end later.

It means he will have only five or less weeks to be prepared for the world cup under a competitive cricketing environment.

There are dozens of questions about rationality of his suspension. Even if it is so imminent under consideration of the board, there are at least half a dozen questions about the length of the suspension.

BCB did an excellent job during the football world cup __ a great job, indeed, to heavily impact our cricket world cup.

Swab was asked: where is our gold? BCB may ask itself after the one-day world cup: Howzat?

BDST: 0848 HRS, JUL 16, 2014