OpinionWorld T20 is a true passion play

It's been a surreal week in Chittagong. And let's hope things continue in this dreamlike fashion as Hong Kong cricket bids to extend its presence on the world stage for the first time.

Since arriving in Bangladesh on Monday, I feel as if I have stepped through the looking glass into an alternative world where cricket is a religion, a far cry from Hong Kong where the people who matter, the government, look down upon not just cricket, but sport in general.

That's not the case with the Dhaka administration, which is spending more than US$60 million to stage what will be the biggest sporting event held in the country since it became an independent nation in 1971.

For one of the poorest countries in the world, this is a huge amount of money to spend on a sporting event. However, it is believed every taka spent is worth it as it will give the 160 million Bangladeshis a sense of pride and self-belief that they too can put on a major sporting event watched by hundreds of millions around the world.

Cricket pervades every part of life in this country. You can see it as tens of thousands of people line the streets every day just to get a glimpse of the Hong Kong team bus as it goes from team hotel to ground for practice sessions and the warm-up matches before the big day - today - when the tournament commences.

These people have no chance of spotting the players as the windows of the team bus are covered by the giant tournament logo. But the players can see out and they watch as little children and old men wave to the bus. There is a feeling of welcome, and perhaps gratitude that the world has come to their doorstep.

Everyone from the doorman at the hotel to the waiter at the breakfast table exudes a sense of pride that the ICC World Twenty20 - only the fifth edition, with the last four being held in South Africa (2007), England (2009), West Indies (2010) and Sri Lanka (2012) - was given by the International Cricket Council to Bangladesh.