Doubtlessly, the Tigers are now a force to be reckoned with. But when did Bangladesh suddenly become so dominant? How does a team go from losing to Afghanistan and Hong Kong to making an appearance in the 2015 ICC World Cup quarter-finals and qualifying for the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy?
Many would, of course, cite the split of captaincy as the major reason. Mashrafe bin Mortaza has brought unprecedented success for the team in the ODI format. But that is not to say the uphill journey began only after he took charge. In fact, the “hunger for victory” was brought into the spotlight long ago.
Be it the victory against England in the 2011 ICC World Cup or the one against the West Indies in the lone Twenty20 international in the same year, it was always apparent that Bangladesh were capable of bringing pride to their loyal legion of fans.
However, the fact was that such wins were always rare, and that is exactly what has changed recently.
The most amazing, and perhaps most unexpected, milestone was reaching the 2012 Asia Cup final under Mushfiqur Rahim’s leadership, and almost winning it. The message was clear: Bangladesh were underdogs no longer. As though to cement this message, an emphatic 3-2 series win against the West Indies, whitewashing New Zealand for the second time and drawing a series against Sri Lanka followed, which were all achievements in their own rights.
But the winning habit that the team had seemed to get into gradually faded, starting with a series defeat against Zimbabwe in 2013 and the disastrous losing streak in 2014. It was a depressing and devastating period for the Tigers.
But then, the comeback period started once Mashrafe took over. One of the biggest advantages that the current team enjoy is a stable head coach - this position had changed three times between 2011 and 2014, shifting from Stuart Law to Richard Pybus to Shane Jurgensen. After Law stepped down right after the end of the Asia Cup, Tamim Iqbal had perhaps spoken aloud what everyone was thinking - “Every time we do something good, something bad happens to us.” The fact that the team does not need to keep readjusting to new coaches now that they have found a coach who not only seems to be perfect, but also long-term, in Chandika Hathurusingha is a huge advantage. Not only does he understand the sub-continental conditions, he also seems to understand each player on the side.
Furthermore, Mashrafe has introduced what is hailed as a “fearless” brand of cricket. This aggressive approach has so far proven to be quite invincible. His field settings and changes in bowling attack all work like magic. A huge setback used to be the lack of permanence in the team line-up itself - the selectors struggled to find an opening partner for Tamim, going through a number of opening pairs in a short time, ranging from Imrul Kayes to Jahurul Islam to Shamsur Rahman to Nazimuddin, before settling on Anamul Haque. As if that was not bad enough, the team then suddenly lost Mohammad Ashraful, an asset in the line-up. As a result, the top-order never seemed to click. However, all that has changed. With Anamul and Soumya Sarkar becoming sensational rising stars in world cricket, and Imrul and Mominul Haque to rely upon in Test matches, the top-order simply sparkles.
Most of all, it is the mindset of the players that has made the biggest difference. Both the batsmen and the bowlers seem to have a clear understanding of their role in the team. There was a time when the Tigers used to rely heavily on two or three individual players - if for instance, Shakib al Hasan or Tamim did not have a good day on the field, it used to follow that the whole team would simply crumble. But those days are long gone, as the team have used its past failures as a learning curve. They have learnt the art of teamwork, as opposed to suffering from a domino-effect every time they lost a wicket, or depending on only one or two bowlers to take the majority of the wickets. As each player knows what work is cut out for them, they fit together to work like a well-oiled machine.
Batting-wise, the Tigers seem to have become more responsible. Players like Tamim who were well-known for playing rash shots at the wrong moments, are finding the balance between aggression and control. When even openers make an effort to stay on till the end of the innings, it is quite obvious that the team have matured. More experienced players like Tamim, Shakib, Mushfiq and Mahmudullah have been shouldering the responsibility that is expected of them, lessening the pressure on newcomers and youngsters like Soumya, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed and even Nasir Hossain, thus allowing them to explore their potential and thrive.
Other than that, the lack of consistent pacers used to be quite alarming. The likes of Nazmul Hossain, Robiul Islam, Shafiul Islam, Al Amin Hossain, Abul Hasan and even Rubel Hossain all came and went as they were each attacked by injuries. But with Mashrafe returning to the side, Rubel gradually becoming a threat for any batsman and Taskin and Mustafiz coming into the spotlight, pace has suddenly become our strong suite.
Mohammad Shahid’s efforts in the Test arena are also praiseworthy. Fast bowling coach Heath Streak’s intention of reducing dependency on spin and preparing fresh talent for the national team has clearly been realised. Once again, teamwork has proven to be the key. Instead of looking only to spinners, or to one particular bowler, the burden of both taking wickets and reducing run-rates has been beautifully shared among them. This clearly reduces the stress on bowlers and gives the team more options to rely on instead of having a single player bowl around 33 overs in one match, as was the case against Zimbabwe in 2013.
Even in the Test arena, Bangladesh now have seven wins, compared to three in 2011. The Tigers faced a real chance, though it was washed out by the rain, of defeating the Proteas in a Test match - a feat which was unthinkable only last year. And of course, the giant leaps made by the Tigers in the ODI format cannot be overstated.
Not only has the team’s confidence been boosted, but they have also gained enough momentum to thrive upon for a long time to come. However, it is every fan’s sincerest hope that that this generation of cricketers do not become complacent, because if this set of players continue to play the level of cricket they have been delivering recently, the Tigers can surely roar even louder in the foreseeable future.