If you follow the proceedings related to Bangladeshi cricket on social media, chances are quite high that you follow the ‘Stories with Saif’ page on Facebook.
Saif Ahmed Chowdhury has been a remarkable name in the Bangladeshi sports journalism scene, and within a short time, he has become one of the most acclaimed independent content creators in this regard.
In his own words, he started his work in the sports industry with Bangladesh's biggest cricket portal, bdcrictime.com, and then went on to make a platform of his own, the much-talked-about Stories with Saif. He is currently the media manager of the Bangla Tigers. He also works as a sports journalist for T Sports, which is Bangladesh's first and only sports channel.
Saif has amassed quite a following on Facebook, and his page has been a go-to place for the cricket enthusiasts of the country to get the latest updates on the cricketing world. His analytical approach to many aspects of the Bangladeshi cricketing world, particularly, has made him a popular figure among cricket connoisseurs.
Saif Ahmed Chowdhury shared his journey with the Financial Express about becoming a well-known sports journalist in the country.
"I’m more of a content writer than a content creator. I was a passionate cricket fan from a young age, and when I started using social media, I used to love writing about cricket and interpreting my emotions into words.”
“As I grew up, one day, I thought that not everyone on my friend list was fond of sports, and for them, my continuous posts about sports in their news feed can make them feel annoyed. From that realisation, I thought of creating my own personal page, which I named ‘Stories with Saif.’ I opened it just before the start of the 2019 World Cup."
The next part of his journey was quite overwhelming as well as unexpected for him. He was surprised to see that many people not only followed him but also created similar pages on which they would post content about cricket.
This made him realise that people genuinely liked his content, which has been a major part of his motivation going forward, as per his own admission.
"My biggest breakthrough came when I got an offer from the Bangla Tigers, which is a franchise team in the Abu Dhabi T10 League in the United Arab Emirates. I have worked for many popular sports media in Bangladesh and even on Indian websites as well. But it was my own personal page that got me the opportunity to work in an internationally approved franchise league tournament," Saif added.
His work with the Bangla Tigers has brought him into contact with the cricketer Faf Du Plessis, who happened to be the captain of the Bangla Tigers last season. His work on social media is followed by many renowned cricketers both from Bangladesh and abroad, which, according to him, has been a huge source of his motivation.
Saif always wanted to have his own platform to disseminate his ideas about cricket. Since he is one of the few English-language content creation hubs about cricket in Bangladesh, he has major plans for the future. In his humble words, he wants to be a brand in the future, which he believes he would be able to achieve if he could maintain quality in his content.
He also wants to work for different franchise leagues worldwide, believing his experience would help him excel in that. He has also expressed his desire to work in the BPL, the only T-20 franchise league in the country.
In his own words, Saif sees content creation as a field that is moving in a direction to satiate the increasingly different needs of people.
"As the days pass, the world of social media is fully moving into video content, and the opportunities are huge. The demand for content writing will never diminish fully, but I've got to admit that video content is taking over all social media platforms. So my plan for the future is to move into video content as well, besides continuing to do what I do. This will also open the door to more opportunities and improve me as a content creator."
Saif Ahmed Chowdhury has not only made it fashionable to become a sports journalist but also his quirky style has been a focal point in the sporting arena of the country, inspiring and motivating many new faces to come into the field.
Saif has big plans for the future, and his future endeavours might be a positive aspect in making sports journalism more attractive in Bangladesh.
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