Batting failure, lack of collective effort behind Bangladesh's wobbling World Cup campaign

After a rosy start, Bangladesh crumbled against tougher opponents and now have found themselves in a big hole after losing three matches on the trot. 

All of England, India and New Zealand were favourites going into the matches, but there was hope because Bangladesh have been a pretty good ODI side.

Bangladesh batted first in the last three games and couldn't cross 260 in any of them. 

Two former international cricketers Khaled Mashud and Mehrab Hossain spoke to The Business Standard (TBS) about Bangladesh's wobbling World Cup campaign and what could and should be done to revive it.

Both of them cited batting failure and lack of collective effort as reasons behind the team's inability to win matches. They also feel that the gap of strength between Bangladesh and top teams is glaring.

"Given the strength of India, they would have beaten Bangladesh anyway," said Mashud. "Our players are not playing well collectively. Probably they are putting on individual performances in different matches, but there has not been a team performance."

"We are scoring 250 on 300-run wickets. Given the start, we should have started 330-340 against India. If it's not the case, it will be a walk in the park for the opponents," he added.

Mehrab, who hit Bangladesh's first ODI hundred, stated, "The opponents in the last three matches were ranked higher than us and have more experience. It's important to score runs in the World Cup. Top-order batters are contributing hugely to 300-350 totals. So, at least two from our top order need to click."

"You cannot be happy with 40-50 runs. You have to convert it to 70-80 or hundred. Big partnerships will enhance our chances. It's natural that everyone won't perform. But at least three or four have to do well. But big partnerships are missing," he said.

Mashud reckons the likes of Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah are batting too far down the order.

"Mushfiqur and [Mahmudullah] are coming too late. By that time, matches are slipping away from our hands. Mahmudullah got out while playing shots against India. If he had come earlier, he would have scored 80-90. It's better not to improvise too much. We improvised with [Mehidy Hasan] Miraz. Yes, he did well in a couple of matches. [Najmul Hossain] Shanto has done well in at three. But we have improvised there too," he mentioned. 

Mehrab though believes Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah are batting in ideal positions. "If Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah bat higher, then who will bat at 6-7? There has to be options."

"I think we are bowling well," said Mashud. "The problem is that we can't score enough runs. Our openers are not scoring big. They did well in one game, but then others failed. The batters must give the bowlers something to bowl at."

Translated by: AHM Nayeem