Bangladeshi Tigers astonishingly lost 6 back to back matches which is quite massive & embarrassing in the format. Shakib-al-Hasan hasn’t been able to dictate the terms, perhaps the burden of captaincy affected his natural game. Shakib-al-Hasan‘s tactics have been quite questionable and according to sources, it is assumed that he wasn’t a part of the selection also which doesn’t sound good.
There were high hopes from Bangladesh in the 2023 ODI WC edition as the tournament was staged in India as the conditions aren’t that alien. It won’t be wrong to say that there was not only lack of intent but there was no fight shown by the players. Also at the same time, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) didn’t handle the injury of the veteran batter Tamim Iqbal carefully.
Lack of responsibility from Shakib-al-Hasan & Mushfiqur Rahim
The batting position of Shakib-al-Hasan & Mushfiqur Rahim wasn’t fixed throughout the tournament which was quite bizarre. There must be questions raised over the management for making whole sale changes and changing batting positions of players which disturbed the dynamics of the team.
It was quite shocking to see that Mahmudullah Riyad was playing at the lower middle order. The batter has got a terrific track record at the top of the order and was one of the key architect in 2015 ODI WC campaign when Bangladeshi Tigers reached the knock-out stages for the first time.
According to sources with knowledge, it is believed that the entire coaching staff except head coach Chandika Hathurusingha would be sacked after a disappointing performance in the championship. It won’t be wrong to say that the head coach didn’t work out a proper game plan as there was no strategy to outfox the opposition.
What’s next for Bangladesh
Bangladesh now would be aiming to qualify for ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan and for that they need to be in the top 8 of the points table. Bangladesh are placed at 9th position with 6 defeats from 7 matches and an NRR of -1.466 which is quite massive.
Bangladesh’s next two matches are against Sri Lanka & Australia which are quite competitive and it won’t be easy for Bangladeshi Tigers to outclass the teams. Shakib-al-Hasan needs to take responsibility and smash a captain’s knock for the team. All in all, Bangladesh cricket will have to make a hard rest as there are a lot of ICC events aligned up and there is intense competition.