The Unfulfilled Dream of a Cricket Museum in Bangladesh

A Nation United by Sport, Divided by History

Today, May 18, is International Museum Day. This year’s theme, ‘Museums Uniting a Divided World,’ carries a powerful message. In a fracturing world, museums are not merely static storehouses; they are vital cultural bridges that connect history with the present, fostering shared understanding and empathy across generations. In Bangladesh, we have dedicated museums for our liberation struggle, military history, and even currency. Yet, we completely lack a permanent space for the one cultural force that unites our people across lines of religion, class, and politics more than anything else: cricket.

The Weight of Our Sporting Legacy

Since gaining independence, our shared cricketing journey has brought us collective joy, heartbreak, and immense national pride. Behind these emotional highs and lows lie decades of sacrifice and achievement. Yet, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) currently lacks a proper institutional archive. As someone who has spent over 25 years collecting cricket memorabilia, I see plainly what history we are losing every single day we delay the establishment of a formal museum.

The global culture of preserving cricketing heritage is well-established and thriving. Since the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) opened the world’s most celebrated museum at Lord’s in 1953, nearly every Test-playing nation has built its own institutional or personal ‘memory palace.’ From the Bradman Museum in Australia to the newly established Sri Lanka Cricket Museum, the world honors its sporting heroes with the reverence they deserve.

Global Recognition vs. Local Absence

When visiting these global institutions, the absence of Bangladesh is glaring. At Lord’s, our rich history is represented by a single item: the bat Aminul Islam Bulbul used to score his historic century in our debut Test match. In New Zealand, records of the legendary partnerships between Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim hang on foreign walls. The very moments that made millions of Bangladeshis leap from their chairs are commemorated in London, Wellington, and Dubai—but never in Dhaka.

Private collectors worldwide have taken initiative where institutions have lagged. In Colombo, the Cricket Club Cafe displays Sir Garry Sobers’ historic 1968 six-sixes bat alongside signed memorabilia from icons like Sachin Tendulkar and Don Bradman. In Dubai, industrialist Sham Bhattia’s museum houses an unrivaled collection featuring every cricket great, including our own stars. In Kolkata, historian Boria Majumdar’s Fanatic Sports Museum places historic letters and match-worn gear within arm’s reach of the public.

The Temporary Solution and the Need for Permanence

We have attempted to fill this void through temporary exhibitions. In 2011, the first cricket memorabilia exhibition was organized at the Russian Cultural Centre, followed by a 2013 showcase at the National Museum. The Bangladesh Cricket Supporters’ Association (BCSA) later hosted festivals at the Drik Gallery and National Museum between 2014 and 2017. These events showcased extraordinary treasures, from signed bats belonging to Tendulkar and Lara to the match-worn gear of our modern-day legends like Tamim Iqbal and Litton Das.

However, temporary exhibitions cannot safeguard a legacy. Each time the galleries closed, these invaluable pieces of our national heritage were returned to cardboard boxes. Establishing a permanent museum requires meticulous research, institutional will, and financial planning. It could start as a dedicated wing at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium and eventually sustain itself through ticketing and tourism. What is missing is not the material, but the political will to begin.

A Call to Action

To the leadership of the BCB and the Ministry of Youth and Sports: the time to act is now. We have the history, the artifacts, and the passionate curators. We only lack a home for them. The painter Pablo Picasso once famously said, ‘Give me a museum and I will fill it.’ After decades of collecting and dreaming, I offer the same promise to our authorities. Give Bangladesh a cricket museum and we will fill it with the story of our nation’s sporting soul.