Another ’keeper revisits the killing fields

‘‘I still remember that day,’’ recalls Mashud as he gets ready for the first Test against India beginning tomorrow. ‘‘Akram Khan, our regular captain, wasn’t playing, so I was captain. I brought on left-arm-spinner Jem for that one over and after three balls I decided to change the field. I looked around and I saw Raman and asked him to stand at forward short-leg.’’

Lamba, recalls Mashud, refused to wear a helmet. ‘‘He said that it was just three balls (for the over) and so it wouldn’t be a problem,’’ Mashud says.

After the ball struck Lamba, Mashud says, the impact was such that it flew all the way behind the stumps and he (Mashud) had to step back a few paces to catch it. ‘‘I knew Mehrab was out. But when the other players gathered around me to celebrate, I looked for Raman. He was lying on the ground,’’ Mashud remembers.

Then, Mashud says, ‘‘He said ‘I am okay’ and that he would be fine. The match went on and we won. After we returned to the dressing room, I found out that Raman was in the hospital.’’

After that, it was all over.

Today, Mashud only blames the medical treatment given to Lamba (or the lack of it), in a chilling echo of Cristiano Junior’s plight. ‘‘He died because we did not have good medical facilties then.

“He was at a private hospital first and then moved to the government hospital, but it was too late.’’

Ask Mashud about Mehrab, the equivalent of Subroto Paul in the incident, and Mashud says, ‘‘Mehrab couldn’t sleep for two-three days.’’

‘‘Raman was my senior,’’ Mashud carries on as it gets close to time for him to go for a Bangladesh team meeting (it is, after all, the Test match-eve). ‘‘He was always willing to help. He was a great player and a good thinker. Above all, though, he was my friend.’’