Bangladesh have lost yet another T20 International series, and it seems like they just can’t get out of the cycle of disasters in this format at the moment.
The two defeats in the Caribbeans took their tally to 13 defeats in their last 15 T20Is, starting from the T20 World Cup last year.
And if things continue as they have been, it is almost certain that the Tigers are heading for another disaster T20 World Cup campaign later this year.
Bangladesh only have two T20I series left before the World Cup, one in Zimbabwe, and the other in a tri-nation in New Zealand just before the showcase event.
While it might seem like enough preparation for some teams, for Bangladesh, it’s not even near enough considering the holes they need to plug.
First of all, they need to sort things out with Tamim Iqbal who has been continuously creating a mist of confusion regarding his T20I future. If he chooses to continue in the format, he will be picked without a seed of doubt.
And that brings the first question, if he does not clear things up, who will be the openers? Tamim, Liton Das, Anamul Haque, Naim Sheikh, Soumya Sarkar, or somebody else? Bangladesh don’t have the answer, and with only a handful of matches in hand, they direly need it.
The second issue is the captaincy. Mahmudullah Riyad was an intelligent and tactical captain in the domestic circuit which saw him handed the role after Shakib Al Hasan was banned by ICC for a year.
But since being appointed, except for that one win in India and series wins over Australia and New Zealand on doctored pitches at home, he has been captaining the side like a novice.
He has continuously opted for match-ups which don’t make sense. In the last T20 World Cup, Shakib picked up a wicket and was economical early on, but as two left-handers were in for the Lankans, Mahmudullah refused to bring his best spinner on, and Bangladesh lost that game.
Even in the recent T20I series against West Indies, Mosaddek Hossain picked up a wicket-maiden in his first over. But as there were two right-handers at the crease, Mahmudullah did not bring him on to bowl again.
In the third T20I, Mahmudullah again refused to bring on Shakib as there were two left-handers at the crease.
Also, Mahmudullah has turned into a poor fielder, dropping catches and misfielding quite often, and his batting has been subpar for some time now too.
The veteran has already led Bangladesh to a disaster in the previous World Cup, and the recently concluded series suggests that he will be doing the same in Australia too.
Another huge issue for Bangladesh is the number of slow starters. The Tigers do not have someone who can just get on the pitch and start smashing them all around.
From Shakib, Mahmudullah, and Mushfiqur Rahim to Liton and Afif Hossain, all need some time to get settled. In Australia, where the pitches will be batting friendly, a batting lineup with too many of this type of players can only end in them scoring below-par totals.
The only good thing for Bangladesh is that they will have a pace attack to fight it out in the Aussie conditions, but if they fail to fix the other issues, the consequences will be dire.
neelrahman111@gmail.com