Bangladesh cricket team’s approach in the game against Afghanistan in the ongoing Twenty20 World Cup Tuesday [BST] is the most discussed agenda at present in the cricket community of the country.
Bangladesh had the golden opportunity to make to the semis of the tournament if they had chased down 114 runs [Duckworth-Lewis-Stern] inside 12.1 overs.
But as it happened the Tigers surrendered to Afghan bowlers at Saint Vincent and were all out for 105, handing the opposition a narrow eight-run victory.
Bangladesh also saw Afghanistan make history by progressing to the semis of an International Cricket Council event for the first time, despite starting years later in international cricket after the Tigers.
There is nothing to presume what Bangladesh team had in mind during the chase.
Captain Nazmul Hossain Shanto had revealed the team strategy right after the game.
Bangladesh initially wanted to simply win the game and not think of the chances they had of qualifying for the last four.
And when they restricted Afghanistan to an achievable total, they would risk only first three or four wickets and see if it is possible to get to the shore in 12.1 overs, if not just win the game.
This did not go down well with the stakeholders of Bangladesh cricket.
Questions are being raised as to how a team could take such a defensive decision with a big opportunity at the door?
Bangladesh have never been this close to a semi-final of an ICC event.
And as Shanto attended the concluding press conference in the tournament for Bangladesh, the top-order batter received criticism from all directions.
But it is not only Shanto who is to be blamed for the mindset that the team had on the day.
Dhaka Tribune has learnt that the backfooted call had first come from head coach Chandika Hathurusingha, and to everyone’s shock the dressing room agreed.
Whereas the whole nation on the day believed the team ought to have played fearless and all-out cricket.
Even more so after Bangladesh got 13 runs in the first over and required only 103 off the next 67 deliveries.
In is understood that there were side talks within the team before and after the game, that they should have played aggressively and that the majority would not mind the side getting dismissed for 60 or 70– as long as they tried.
This option would have been respectful and well supported than the humiliation the team are currently facing.
Shanto is a young captain and Hathurusingha a strict coach, it is understandable that not everything that the 25-year old suggests will be accepted.
There will be times when Shanto might even feel shy to share opinion.
But the dressing room also has two former captains in Shakib al Hasan and Mahmudullah.
The duo combined share the experience of playing 267 T20 Internationals for the country and have led from the front for Bangladesh in World Cups.
But as it was, both Shakib and Mahmudullah were almost numb while the team were setting the strategy.
None among the two stood up to counter the decision.
With three wins in seven games, Bangladesh finished with the best ever result in the tournament till date.
The side also accomplished the mission of playing the second round which this time was the Super Eight phase.
Just to put as a reminder, the ambition was the same when Bangladesh first played the T20 World Cup 17 years ago.
For reasons the Bangladesh Cricket Board will not require to run a postmortem on the team’s performance.
There will of course be discussions between the board high-ups involving president Nazmul Hasan, cricket operations chairman Jalal Younus and coach Hathurusingha, but there is doubt if it will ultimately benefit the national team who have been struggling for about two years now.
Bangladesh cricket was in tatters following the side’s disastrous performance in the Cricket World Cup 2023 held in India.
BCB president and some influential directors almost every day then spoke on how bad it was and that the board was concerned.
A fact-finding committee was formed almost immediately but thus far almost no one knows what was found, who were guilty if any or what steps the board has taken to overcome the failure.
