What happened to Bangladesh cricket team

Bangladesh's national cricket team celebrated a significant victory on their tour of Pakistan, achieving a historic 2-0 win in the Test series.

This was an impressive achievement, especially given that Bangladesh had never beaten Pakistan in a Test match before. This remarkable success raised hopes, with players expressing confidence about performing well on their next tour in India, even though they acknowledged the challenge.

However, they soon faced reality: Bangladesh were whitewashed in the Test series in India, and the same outcome followed in the T20 series.

Back on home ground, fortune did not favour them either. Despite expressing aspirations of a 2-0 victory against South Africa, Bangladesh once again found themselves on the losing end, whitewashed within two-and-a-half days in both Tests.

The team's struggles continued in the ODI format, where they lost a series 2-1 to Afghanistan. Across these formats, the team's losing streak was marked by consistent batting failures, with few notable performances from the bowling side.

Beyond batting struggles, the way Bangladesh lost these matches raised concerns. Many people reflected on the Pakistan tour, wondering what had happened to the team that had shown such strong performances. Former cricketers and coaches suggested that nothing extraordinary had happened; this was simply Bangladesh's true level.

Based on the team's strength and ability, such inconsistent performances should be expected. Winning an occasional game here and there, they argued, is typical for Bangladesh, with the skills and abilities of the players not quite matching those of other teams.

In an interview with The Business Standard, former national team captains Aminul Islam Bulbul, Khaled Mashud Pilot, and senior local coach Sarwar Imran discussed the current state of Bangladesh's cricket. They spoke about the challenges facing the team, the importance of realistic expectations, the difference in skill level compared to other teams, and the potential ways forward.

Aminul Islam Bulbul

What Happened to Bangladesh's Team?

Let me take you back about 15 to 17 years. Back then, people in the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) were starting to think about Bangladesh's cricket strategy. I remember writing an article where I asked them to decide: five years down the line, would Bangladesh be playing regularly against teams like Australia and India, or would they still be stuck facing Afghanistan and Zimbabwe? To this day, we still lack a proper plan, which is why most of our matches are against teams like Zimbabwe and Afghanistan.

This means that after losing a series to Afghanistan, it still feels as if we lost to a strong team. And when we barely manage to beat Nepal 2-1, it feels like a huge achievement. Look how low we've set the standard for our cricket. Yes, we managed to beat Pakistan and New Zealand in recent Tests, but overall, our performance is lacklustre. Our ranking places us among the lower-tier teams. I mention the Afghanistan series because, back then, I urged the board to dream big. They did not. Now, after losing 2-1 to Afghanistan, people feel like we fought well. For an established team, this is embarrassing.

We are where we are due to a lack of ability and limited vision. These two factors combined have kept us down here. When a student sits for a maths exam, they're not going to fail on purpose. Even those who score zero go in hoping to pass. Your performance will reflect the amount of preparation and strength you bring to the table. If you're playing a series against Bhutan, you know that you can win with a bit of effort.

So, it's crucial to understand our true capability. I won't go into specifics about our weaknesses, but I can say that our mental toughness, ability, and preparation are lacking. This includes domestic cricket, which is where players develop. Look at Australia, India, or New Zealand — they lose matches too, but they win regularly. We win occasionally and only when our opponents play poorly. We don't actually dominate anyone.

Difference in Ability and Skill Between Bangladesh and Other Teams

We're not clear on our own strengths and weaknesses. We lack the analytical capacity to evaluate ourselves accurately. Additionally, there needs to be a strategic vision, a clear goal, and a plan to get there. After our recent success in Pakistan, we're quick to forget our World Cup disappointment. Comparing ourselves to other teams, we need to understand where we actually stand. Self-awareness is critical. To succeed as a team or organisation, you must be realistic before you can aim higher. But we're not realistic.

24 Years of Test Cricket

We haven't progressed much; in fact, we've arguably regressed. I say this because, despite being the newest Test team, we lose series to Afghanistan and are even afraid of playing them. There's no need to say much because rankings and statistics tell the story. We rank near the bottom of the table. As Humayun Ahmed once wrote, "Our memory is like a goldfish's; we forget everything after a while." We need self-reflection.

When you field eight batsmen in a lineup, it suggests a lack of trust in your top seven. Since the Hathurusingha era, we've been preparing terrible pitches, making even our home grounds feel foreign. Our approach is fundamentally negative. We struggle to analyse things properly or learn from our mistakes. We lack the strategic planning needed to turn potential into actual strength. In mining, people search for diamonds and gold, not just to wander around. But we wander. We don't even know what's gold and what isn't. We should talk about domestic cricket. Our players solidify their spots by performing internationally, but they lack the foundation that SSC exams or pre-tests provide for students. It pains me to be this negative, but the truth is the truth.

The Way Forward

You can bargain at a shop if you have money in your pocket. But we don't have the money; we don't have the players. It's hard for us to build a roster of 25 players across three formats. There's still a lot to do: we need to improve our cricket infrastructure and the grounds. Against Afghanistan, our team didn't train properly; they just played. We need to arrange more matches for them to improve. Our Test venues are idle most of the year, only used for first-class games. Proper leagues aren't taking place in the districts either. These things have become routine, and we're used to it. Our children need to play, and they need competition. Then, things will gradually change.

Khaled Mashud Pilot

What Happened to Bangladesh Team?

In my opinion, the issue lies with preparation. Players have been in the system for a decade, some even more. If they aren't prepared after this much time, that's a failing on the players' part. Our cricket culture might not be strong enough; our domestic structure is weak, which causes issues. I'd mention the Sharjah match — I think our players lacked dedication. Nabi held his ground and pushed the team's score beyond 200. But Bangladesh were bowled out for 120 to 143. This was a slow, spin-friendly track. Our players should have been prepared; even one innings of 40 or 50 runs could have made a difference. There's a gap in our players' execution and mental preparation.

Mental Preparation Shortfalls

We have many deficiencies. We always expect results, but results don't come overnight. Some players seem to be going through the motions, representing the team without a clear mission. Results will come when players commit fully and prepare mentally. There seems to be a lack of dedication in certain areas, and players appear to lack confidence and team bonding. Constant changes in selectors, coaches, and captains aren't the root issue. Replacing a coach won't make much difference if the players themselves don't have the right mentality.

The Way Forward

This won't change overnight. A rotting wood beam won't magically heal. You need a three-to-six-month correction plan and a long-term strategy for five years to bring about actual improvement. But I don't see any real change or substantial steps being taken yet. Previously, leagues like the NCL and BPL were organised consistently, but lately, there haven't been any new initiatives. People need to see visible change to believe in it, but I don't see any.

24 Years of Test Cricket: How Far Have We Come?

Not much. If we look back from 2000 to 2008–09, we might've climbed a few steps only to fall back. This cycle has repeated itself. Our progress graph should have been a steep upward curve, but we've only managed to move up and down between a few levels. We should have been closer to the cricket cultures of countries like India, Australia, and Sri Lanka, considering how cricket-loving our 180 million population is.

Sarwar Imran

What's Wrong with the Team

Every now and then, we win one or two matches, and we talk a lot about it. In ODIs, perhaps we are at a certain standard, though we lost a series to Afghanistan 2-1. Those were matches we could've won but didn't. But in Tests, all of a sudden, we won two matches. Here, I'd say Pakistan's performance was foundationally flawed. None of their bowlers made a difference. In the first Test, they had well-known bowlers, but they did nothing; in the second, their bowling wasn't effective. Our bowling was much better. They didn't have any notable spinners; we took advantage of that. There was internal conflict in the Pakistan team, a new captain, and poor team combination. We capitalised on that, and our bowling was excellent. But we could have lost the Test if not for Mushfiq's innings or Miraz-Liton's batting. After losing six wickets for 26 runs, we made a comeback to win.

So, from what I understand, we occasionally play well. And from that, we tend to think we can beat everyone. But if we want to improve in four-day or Test matches, we need to start a domestic tournament of that calibre. Our current structure and publicity don't match the level of BPL or ODI cricket. Though we say it's our number one tournament, no one wants to play there. No star player wants to play. Why not? There must be a reason. We need to address this. We've attached a tag to ourselves in ODIs that we're good. Back when Tamim, Shakib, Mashrafe, Mushfiq, and Mahmudullah all played together, we had a strong lineup. Now, except for Mahmudullah, no one is left—only he played yesterday. Litton Das wasn't there either. So, we haven't developed players of that calibre. We completely rely on Tawhid Hridoy in the middle order, but this approach won't work. New players need experience before playing for the national team. New players come, perform well, and then disappear because domestic cricket isn't up to standard. Without improvement, we'll keep playing like this; occasionally, we might win against a big team, and then we'll keep taking pride in that and making stories all around—that's how it'll go.

Difference in Skills and Competence with Players from Other Teams

There's definitely a difference. Our players join the team at 19 or 20. In Australia or England, it's rare for players to join before 24 or 25. Over there, they play many first-class matches, proving themselves. Here, maybe someone plays well in the U-19, does well in one or two domestic matches, and gets a chance. Some don't succeed, so they're replaced. It's fine to give them a chance, but the difficulties have to be considered. Against what kind of bowling are they scoring runs? This is very important. The quality of the team they're scoring against, their team spirit, how many catches they drop in an innings—these things matter. Good batsmen emerge if they score against good bowlers, good fielding, and good teams. But here, maybe there's one or two good bowlers in a team, and the other two or three aren't of that level. The wicket doesn't help batsmen improve either. Here, there are uneven bounce wickets, low wickets, which don't help us in international cricket. These factors need to be considered.

Evaluation of 24 Years as Bangladesh's Coach Since Their Debut Test

I don't see much difference. Back then, players like Akram Khan, Aminul Islam Bulbul, and Habibul Bashar played in a way that helped us score 400 in the first innings of our first Test. So, in the way they played, I don't see much difference here. There's a difference in ODIs, but not in Tests. This just shows how far our Test cricket has progressed.