ICC World T20 has left behind many questions for Bangladesh cricket future. However, it is not that only performance of Bangladesh is being questioned. Much more fancied teams Australia and England are also being seriously under scrutiny in their home countries.
T20 is a format where the team of the day smiles at the end. Two or three overs of tight bowling or aggressive batting and some brilliant fielding can win match. But if a team fails to perform consistently making same mistakes all the time question then arises about professionalism and commitment.
If that team is the home team the criticism becomes sharper. Home team knows conditions and environment much better and they have support of vocal fans.
Having seen every ball of all of Bangladesh matches on Television, having seen TV talk shows of some ex-cricketers and having read several post match analysis, I have come to a conclusion that something is very wrong now with Bangladesh team.
The BCB, team management, coaching staff and players all contributed to the abysmal performance. Bangladesh appeared to have no match planning or strategy for the tournament.
What made Shakib talk so aggressively in the media during the tournament? He is not the captain or the authorized spokesman of the team. There must be a code of conduct for players. Shakib questioned the patriotism of Bangladeshis. What made him think about that? Tiger fans remain solidly behind the team through thick and thin.
Logically they expect the team to perform up to potential. All foreign teams and officials were of full praises of Bangladesh cricket fans.
Shakib suggested banning games of Bangladesh team at home for two years to reduce the level of expectation. What an unrealistic suggestion!
He termed match fees of players lesser than others. Present Pakistani, West Indian, Zimbabwean players get much less. What about the earning of Afghanistan, Nepal and Hong Kong teams?
The key player of Bangladesh termed playing facilities not conducive for good cricket. We cannot agree that playing facilities are that bad now. Bangladesh now has good playing surfaces and other support infrastructures.
We agree that domestic cricket format is not conducive. We agree that BCB does not have proper planning to hunt talents and groom them. Bangladesh does not have world class coaching staff. But a senior player like him should take these issues to team management.
A player like Shakib must have reached a level where he is expected to perform consistently and play with greater responsibilities. In any case Shakib must be asked to explain his position and disciplined.
Captain Mushfiqur himself could not understand what went wrong. He thought the unfortunate defeat against lowly Hong Kong in the last match of the qualifying round rocked the team and had no time to regroup before encountering much stronger oppositions in the group of death.
“After Hong Kong we were not playing against Nepal but against India, Pakistan or West Indies. So that was a big shock for us. I think we really recovered well but there were a couple of guys who didn`t perform well and that didn`t help us,” he said.
He also said, "If four or five guys are out of form it is difficult to play well as a team and to play 40 overs of competitive cricket and that also cost us in planning and application. So we have to look after those areas and come back for our country and hopefully we will do that."
Mushfiqur felt that the combined loss of form hurt the team the most, as Bangladesh has often thrived on a number of players doing well together.
"There were times in the past when myself, Shakib [Al Hasan] and Tamim were not there but still Bangladesh won. At that time there were four or five other players who performed consistently: Mashrafe, Riyad bhai, Nasir, Anamul, and Sohag Gazi.
"Now we are all here but you have to play on the field, names don`t matter. If Tamim, Shakib, myself, Riyad Bhai, Gazi, Nasir, Mashrafe, if all of us could play to our potential then I think the results would have been different."
Mushfiqur is a fair and outspoken cricketer. He often talks his heart out. But what he did not realize that professionals have to take win or loss on their stride. One bad day can happen to the best of the best. But true professionals bounce back.
The team selection was questionable, too. Ziaur should have been in the team right from the beginning. Farhad Reza should never have been in the team. Zia and Shabbir were underutilized. Zia was picked as an all-rounder and pinch hitter. But he was never used like that.
Talented Shabbir was hardly given opportunity to play his role. Young Taskin could be blooded against minor teams in the qualifying round. After the shock defeat of Bangladesh against Hong Kong the team required counseling and encouragement from responsible persons.
Perhaps the team management did not do that. Mashrafee was not match fit. Respecting his massive contribution he could be rested after two matches.
Mushfiqur Rahim made several tactical errors in bowling handling, field setting, and batting order setting. Was he remote controlled? Too much chopping and changing made the team panicked. Players were more alert in protecting their position than responding to the game situation.
Team management could not give the much required rest to Tamim despite his repeated failures. The panicked players fielded poorly, batted without taking responsibility and bowled without commitment. Perhaps players had discipline problem as well. All these contributed to substandard poor performance of the team.
To perform consistently and compete at highest level BCB must be a professional unit of reputed ex cricket players and noted organizers. What happened to age group cricket? What happened to school cricket? The present crop of national team is the product of Under 19 teams. Bangladesh had an academy squad.
There was a high performance committee in BCB which use to plan strategy. Why Bangladesh cannot have club level representation in Indian and Sri Lankan Domestic tournaments? Why some players cannot be sent to Australian academy? Why some players cannot play in English leagues?
These exposures will create greater pool of talented cricketers. The planning and development committee of BCB must be made stronger. Bangladesh should have different team for T20. Many players better for longer version cannot adjust in T20.
Every other test playing teams have different teams for different format, different captains. Only Bangladesh is different. The coaching team is Bangladesh is also substandard. We need an well reputed international coach as head coach and specialist batting, bowling and fielding coach.
There must not be any question of money as BCB now is the richest sports body in Bangladesh. Perhaps fortune seekers are not ill motivated and not doing enough for national cause.
BDST: 1922 HRS, APR 03, 2014
