Bangladesh indeed managed to assert their dominance over West Indies in the ODI series, winning it 3-0 after being thumped in both Tests and T20Is.
This was expected as they have a clear game plan for every aspect in the 50-over format, contrary to what they have in the other two.
But it was a useless series and Bangladesh failed to make use of that uselessness, which only made it worse.
First of all, this series was not a part of the ongoing ODI Super League, the official qualification process for the 2023 World Cup.
This means that even if Bangladesh were clean swept in the series, it would have not caused a dent in their World Cup qualification (which is almost guaranteed by now).
So, Bangladesh had the chance of trying and testing players who generally don’t play.
While they managed to do so in the case of Najmul Hossain Shanto, Nasum Ahmed, and Taijul Islam, it was not the case for Anamul Haque or Ebadot Hossain. Even Taskin Ahmed played just one game, and in the final game, the Tigers fielded only one seamer, despite having four good ones in the squad. But that’s for later.
Anamul just came off a record-breaking Dhaka Premier League season, where he scored the most runs in a single List A season in history. That resulted in him playing a Test and three T20Is, but it could not provide him with a chance in the format where he actually scored the runs.
This scrutinises the selection process as it puts the question of whether runs in domestic competition matter at all or not. In the case of Anamul, it did not. And despite Shanto failing in the first two matches, he was not dropped, and the left-right combination tactics only sounded like a lame excuse.
Bangladesh had the glorious opportunity to field a good pace-bowling unit on a pitch that did not suit them. It would have given them an opportunity to hone their skills for wickets which are slow and low, a likely scenario in the latter parts of any global tournament, as shown in the 2019 World Cup.
But Bangladesh just had to win all three matches, and thus came into the third ODI with three frontline spinners and three part-timers.
Finally, Bangladesh’s batting order was rarely exposed in the whole series. In the first two ODIs, the Caribbeans scored only 149 and 108, and the Tigers broke no sweat in chasing that.
So, when Tamim Iqbal won the toss in the third ODI, it would have been a good move to bat first as it would allow them to test their whole batting order.
And also, on a pitch where it’s difficult to bat first, it would be a great fight for the batsmen to score runs, and a very good opportunity to test the mettle of the young players.
But Bangladesh refused to do those. All they tried to do was win all the matches, which did not bring anything of significant importance.
Tamim’s captaincy has been applauded as it has been successful, but to this point, the opener has rarely done anything more than normal. Every opportunity he has had, he has not taken, and it has been the same with head coach Russell Domingo.
It seems like both are just playing safe to get as many wins in the bag as possible, but as a wise man once said, you can never reach anywhere with just playing it safe.
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