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WC opening ceremony at the Bangabandhu

Parliamentary body wants to go to England 'to gain experience'

Rashidul Hasan and Bishwaht Roy
It is all but confirmed that the opening ceremony of the 2011 Cricket World Cup will take place at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.
State Minister for Youth and Sports Ahad Ali Sarkar already made it public recently and now the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Sports also recommended the same when a meeting of the body was held yesterday at the parliament building with high officials of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) present.
The committee however also talked about the possibility of holding World Cup matches at the country's premier venue but could not come to a decision.
"The standing committee will sit again soon to decide on the issue," said Zahid Ahsan Russel, chairman of the standing committee, while talking to the reporters after the marathon meeting.
Apart from the opening ceremony, Bangladesh has been awarded eight matches of the showcase event including two quarterfinals.
However, the most interesting part of the meeting was that the committee members expressed their desire to visit England 'to gain experience' during the ICC World 1\venty20 next month.
"The members expressed their desire to travel to England to gain experience as we are of the co-hosts of the 2011 World Cup. But it has yet to be decided who will bear the expenses of the tour." said Russel, also a ruling party lawmaker.
It was learnt that BFF president Kazi Salahuddin, who attended the meeting, vehemently opposed the idea of holding matches at the Bangabandhu.
"Cricket is also our sport, but the problem is that football will be badly affected if cricket matches are played at the Bangabandhu [National Stadium)," the BFF boss told journalists after the meeting.
"We therefore requested the committee to arrange only the opening ceremony at this venue," he added.
Russel also informed that the committee members were unanimous in their opinion to
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hold the opening ceremony at the Big Bowl.
"The committee members unanimously decided that the 2011 World Cup opening ceremony would be held at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. We therefore recommended that the sports ministry take immediate measures so that the inaugural programme is held successfully, "said Russel.
"The committee proposed three stadiums - Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Fatullah Cricket Stadium and Chittagong Divisional Stadium -- for the World Cup matches," he added.
The meeting also recommended that the sports ministry take initiative to upgrade the Kamalapur Stadium to an international standard football venue while it also discussed about a new venue exclusively for football.
The committee has asked respective ministries and departments to give the World Cup the highest priority to make it a grand success. It also asked concerned officials to give extra importance bn the mega event.
BCB president Lt Gen Sina Ibn Jamali also attended the meeting.