Meet ‘Dada’ and ‘Burger’: The nicknames of the world champs from their BKSP peers

World beaters Akbar Ali, Parvez Hossain and the likes are now household names in Bangladesh. Their performance in South Africa have turned them into heroes amongst the fans and the followers. 

But, to their peers back in Bangladesh Krira Shikhsha Protishthan (BKSP) they are still the same 'buddies', who they used to share meals, clothes, and cricket gears with. The Business Standard went behind the doors of BKSP to reveal some of the fun "secrets" about the now-famous youngsters.

"We used to call him 'Dada' (grandpa). He was so mature with his thoughts and mentality that despite being senior to him in BKSP, I call him that even now", revealed Abu Naser, an aspiring cricketer and Akbar's roommate in BKSP.

Whenever he calls me, I reply with 'Dadu ki khobor?' (Grandpa how are you doing?)", laughs a reminiscing Naser.

Naser, who is set to make his debut for Gazi Group Cricketers next season, also shared an insight of his now-famous roommate.

"Akbar is a very calm and quiet character. He takes his decisions with a very cool head. Always very disciplined and always open to discussion with his seniors about a problem." Added Naser.

But, at times he was full of teenage follies, like all the other boys of his age.

"Akbar is an early riser. Even on the off days, which is usually Friday, he used to wake up early. And then he would open up everyone else's lockers and ate all the food he could get. We had to hide our food at times", added Naser.

Another one of Akbar's peers, Jahidul Islam also gets motivated by the U-19 skipper.

"We lived on the same floor in BKSP. I have seen him wearing only a pair of shorts in the lobby. But now he is a world champion, which inspires me a lot."

Akbar's world cup winning teammate and BKSP peer Parvez Hossain, probably had the best nickname in BKSP. Burger.

Parvez was on the chubbier side from his early BKSP days. Hence the nickname stuck. One of Parvez's BKSP mate Mahmudul remembers calling him that.

"Emon (Parvez) was on the bulkier side physically. Besides, he used to act funny. We named him 'Burger'. But he never snapped at that", he said.

However, Parvez now is a source of inspiration to Mahmudul. The friend nicknamed "Burger" motivates him to achieve and dream bigger.

"Now I have an inspiration for winning the world cup. I want to work and train harder and figure out my flaws" added Mahmudul.