Hamza Choudhury will spend Friday afternoon at a youth cricket match in Mohammadpur rather than at the Bangladesh-Pakistan Test in Mirpur, as his Dhaka visit takes on an increasingly public dimension beyond the commercial commitments that originally brought him to the city.
The Leicester City midfielder, currently in Dhaka on a personal and commercial trip following the end of the English football season, has been confirmed as a guest at a cricket fixture at the Krira Shikkha ground in Mohammadpur on 8 May. The match forms part of Notun Kuri Sports, a new youth initiative launched by the Ministry of Sports aimed at teenagers across the country. Sports Minister Aminul Haque and Bangladesh Football Federation president Tabith Awal will also be in attendance alongside Hamza.
The arrangement fulfils a hope Aminul Haque had publicly expressed two days earlier, when he indicated he would like to involve Hamza in the Notun Kuri Sports programme during his time in Dhaka. Despite a busy schedule of marketing and commercial engagements, the necessary arrangements have now been confirmed, giving the initiative a high-profile boost from one of Bangladesh’s most recognisable sporting figures.
The visit to Mohammadpur comes after Hamza’s attempt to meet the Bangladesh national cricket team at Mirpur on Wednesday ended in disappointment. He had set off for the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium with the intention of catching up with players including captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and fast bowler Nahid Rana, but arrived to find the squad had already begun their training session. With access unavailable, he was unable to make contact with the players and left without the meeting he had hoped for.
