Rangpur: When the entire Bangladesh contingent rushed to celebrate their maiden ICC U-19 World Cup victory against India, their captain Akbar Ali showed maturity beyond years. Akbar, who was adjudged Man of the Match for leading his team to victory playing unbeaten 43 runs knock, maintained calmness when his players were seen getting involved in a vulgar incident with their Indian counterparts.
Though their revised DLS target of 170 was not difficult to chase down, Bangladesh have lost seven wickets in the run-up to victory. However, cool-headed Akbar coped with the situation and led Bangladesh to their historic win.
But when history awaited Bangladesh little did the world knows that the 18-year-old was going through mental trauma.
On January 22, Akbar's elder sister Khadija Khatun passed away while giving birth to twins.
A staunch supporter of Akbar, the youngest of four brothers and a sister, she had watched her brother lead Bangladesh to a nine-wicket victory against Zimbabwe on January 18 in a Group C game of the World Cup.
But in the final, when the wicket-keeper batsman played the knock of his life -- an unbeaten 43 when his team were in a difficult situation chasing 177 -- Khadija could not watch her beloved brother take the nation over the line and in the process, hand Bangladesh their first World Cup title across all age groups.
Akbar was not informed about his sister's death initially as his family did not want him to lose focus. But he got to know somehow and then questioned one his brothers why he was not informed on January 24 after Bangladesh's match against Pakistan was abandoned due to rain.
He then shepherded Bangladesh to wins against hosts South Africa in the quarter-final and then New Zealand in the semi-final to fix a date with India in the final. Bangladesh won by three wickets (via D/L method) in a tense finish on Sunday.
The final ended on a controversial note with players of the two teams seen engaging in an exchange of words and even some pushing and shoving on the field, leaving a Bangladeshi flag damaged in the process, a Cricinfo report said.
"Akbar was closest to his sister. She loved Akbar a lot," Akbar's father said.
"We did not want to inform him at first. He then called after the Pakistan match and questioned his brother why he was not kept in the loop. I did not have the courage to talk to him. I don't know what to say," his father added.
