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The Bangladesh national cricket team have played 10 Twenty20 international matches this year under four different captains and won only two so far. During this time, the selectors also handed debuts to four cricketers.
The statistics show how poorly Bangladesh performed in the shortest international format so far, and such results did not come only from the cricketer’s inability on the ground but also from a collective failure of decision-making.
After the dismal performance of Bangladesh in the ICC T20 World Cup, where they failed to secure any win at the main draw, then captain Mahmudullah Riyad faced harsh criticism, but he clutched on to his role.
He was carrying his poor form and also emitting a negative vibe through his snail-paced batting. Finally, after the West Indies tour, Bangladesh Cricket Board decided to change the man at the helm.
As Shakib Al Hasan was unavailable during the Zimbabwe tour, Nurul Hasan was named captain for the T20I series. But he got injured, and out of nowhere, Mosaddek Hossain emerged as the new captain in the third match of the series.
Next was Asia Cup. Shakib again took charge of the T20 team after 2019 and led the team to the continental battle, where Bangladesh lost both the group matches and failed to qualify for the super four.
Shakib will lead the team in the T20 World Cup and the triangular series before in New Zealand, where Pakistan are the other team. The all-rounder said in his first press conference as captain that he was not very hopeful about the team’s performance in the Asia Cup. The captain is not with the team currently as he left Dhaka to play in the Caribbean Premier League, and it is pretty obvious that two defeats could not raise his expectation level.
In 2022, Bangladesh have played 10 T20Is so far and will be playing at least four more matches before the T20 World Cup, but the numbers are unsatisfactory.
Bangladesh played two T20Is against Afghanistan at home, winning one and losing one. The next stop was West Indies, where they lost the last two matches of the three-match series after the first one was washed out.
From the Caribbean cruise, the Tigers went for an African Safari in Zimbabwe, which turned into a nightmare. Bangladesh lost the series 2-1, but the worst thing was they lost Nurul as he sustained a finger injury and missed the Asia Cup.
In the battle for continental supremacy, Bangladesh lost to Afghanistan convincingly, where they showed poor batting followed by poor fielding as well. Mohammad Naim, who was touring the West Indies with the A team and scored a ton in a One-Day match, was halted at Dubai on his way back and played in the first match of the Asia Cup. Though he was not part of the original squad, he played as Parvez Hossain remained a silent watcher.
Sabbir Rahman, who was never an opener and before facing Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup, he last played a T20I match back in 2019, made his comeback to the national team without doing anything remarkable and opened the innings.
The selectors are not calling only players from the past. They are also making the national jersey cheap by giving it randomly. Munim Shahriar made his debut and played five T20Is this year, but poor performances saw the selectors lose faith in him. The right-handed batsman was not even considered for the trial camp under the new technical director Sridharan Sriram.
Parvez, another opener who made his debut against Zimbabwe, is waiting for his next match, and probably his wait will get longer. Yasir Ali also played one T20I this year, and might have played a few more, but a back injury pushed him out of the team.
The latest one to make his debut is Ebadot Hossain, who was termed as a Test specialist but is slowly making inroads in white-ball cricket. He picked Sri Lanka’s first three wickets to put the Tigers in control, but his expensive last over cost the game.
Altogether, Bangladesh have a very poor build-up toward the ICC T20 World Cup 2022. And without a miracle, the chances are high that they will also face the same fate as the last edition.
Rather, constant chop and changes in the team and creating confusion by giving rest and bringing back created an unhealthy situation among the players.
Overall, Bangladesh are trapped in a complex puzzle from which a quick solution is unexpected. Sriram wanted to see the players in a match scenario, and BCB arranged a three-day special camp including cricketers from the High-Performance squad and Bangladesh Tigers program. But that too was interrupted by inclement weather.
Sriram’s camp could remind veterans about the pre-ICC Trophy days of Bangladesh cricket when there were open trials for team selection. But the reality is the selectors are trying to please too many minds. From a senior cricketer to an influential board official, from the roaring fans on social media to criticising media, the team’s balance went down too far in the pecking order.
That’s why the selectors cannot finalise the team even before the last day for the squad announcement, and the most surprising amid everything is that a member of the selection panel is playing a tournament of former cricketers in India!
