‘Too much pressure’ blamed after Bangladesh’s third World Cup defeat
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Former cricketers and analysts attributed Bangladesh’s disastrous start to the T20 World Cup to intense pressure on the national team.
Bangladesh lost to the West Indies by three points in Sharjah on Friday – the team’s third consecutive loss in as many Super-12 games, ending their chances of qualifying for the semi-final.
“If you look at the other teams, you see that they like their game. Win or lose, they keep a smile on their face,” former Bangladesh captain Khaled Mashud wrote in the daily Prothom Alo.
“Our players cannot enjoy their game.”
Bangladesh started the tournament with a loss to Scotland but advanced to the Super-12 with wins over Oman and Papua New Guinea.
They initially had Sri Lanka on their knees in their first Super-12 game, but a sloppy face-off and inexplicable bowling changes by skipper Mahmudullah Riyadh cost them the game.
After being beaten by England, Mahmudullah’s side had the West Indies on the ropes, choosing to play first and reducing their opponents to 64-4 in 12.4 overs.
But Nicolas Pooran’s 22 40s led a West Indies resurgence, leading them to a competitive 142-7 on slow ground in Sharjah.
Bangladesh were in the game until the last ball, with skipper Mahmudullah having to cross a limit, but he conceded a point in place of Andre Russell’s yorker.
“Bangladesh played under too much pressure. We had a chance and we fought. In the end, we lost to the experience and wisdom of the West Indies,” wrote Gazi Ashraf Hossain, another former captain. , in a newspaper column.
The editor of cricket website risebd.com, Mr. M. Kayser, said the team had been under pressure since they had been strongly criticized by the chairman of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, Nazmul Hassan, after their loss to the Scotland.
Mahmudullah hit back at the “disparaging” comments, saying the team’s commitment could not be questioned and that they even played despite the injuries.
Senior drummer Mushfiqur Rahim asked critics to “look in the mirror”.
And former captain Mashrafe Mortaza blasted the team’s coaches after the loss to Sri Lanka, accusing them of not supporting the players enough.
“The current management of the team looks like a re-education center, where previously unemployed South African coaches have found work,” Mashrafe wrote on Facebook.
Bangladesh will face South Africa in their next match on November 2.
© 2021 AFP