Bangladesh's latest turmoil takes a back seat as West Indies Tests loom
From disappointing results across formats to questions over discipline, Bangladesh have plenty to address
Chaos and Bangladesh cricket seem to go hand in hand, particularly when things go wrong. It is hardly surprising, then, that the national team finds itself surrounded by similar uncertainty following a series of underwhelming performances across formats.
Bangladesh failed to take seven wickets against Afghanistan in the one-off Test in the UAE, a below-par showing for a team placed fourth in the ICC World Test Championship standings and harbouring hopes of reaching the final in the ongoing cycle.
In T20Is, Bangladesh failed to win a medal at the Asian Games and subsequently missed out on a place in the final of the recently concluded tri-nation series involving Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.
Discipline in the white-ball squad has also come under scrutiny. Some cricketers were fined during the Asian Games for leaving without informing the concerned authorities, while others were blamed post the tri-series debacle for leaving the team hotel to go shopping. However, it is understood that they were not penalised as they had not breached the team curfew.
BCB president Tamim Iqbal's two-and-a-half-hour meeting with the team following their defeat to Zimbabwe in the tri-nation series appeared to suggest that the board's top brass were pressing the panic button. Eyebrows were also raised when the BCB decided to remove Mohammad Ashraful as batting coach just ahead of the Test series against West Indies, without naming a long-term successor.
Head coach Phil Simmons, however, appears to have developed a fair understanding of the prevailing cricket culture in Bangladesh and was hardly bemused when asked whether he was finding the situation chaotic.
“You have been in Bangladesh a lot longer than me. Is this the first time there's chaos before a match? No, right,” said Simmons without elaborating further.
Simmons also sought to clarify the nature of Sunday's (October 25) meeting with the BCB president. Tamim had sat down with members of the team management and five senior cricketers - Najmul Hossain, Towhid Hridoy, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Litton Kumar Das and Mushfiqur Rahim - to discuss plans for the future of Bangladesh cricket.
Such meetings in the past have often been held to review disappointing performances, with the BCB president using the occasion to criticise the cricketers and team management.
Cricbuzz understands that this was not the case this time. Tamim, who had appeared visibly disappointed while addressing the national team in the dressing room after their recent defeat, was instead keen to hear suggestions on how to take Bangladesh cricket forward.
Simmons echoed that sentiment.
“I was there and I was present in the meeting. The meeting was more about the things that we need to put together to push Bangladesh cricket forward,” said Simmons.
“And it was a very good meeting where we talked about how we develop young players and other things like that and how we move forward with Bangladesh cricket. It wasn't a hindrance because it was not about the series. It was about Bangladesh cricket in general and how we move it forward," Simmons added.
Turning his attention to the upcoming Test series against West Indies, which begins at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on October 28, Simmons maintained that the preparation had not been compromised despite several longer-format players joining the Test camp only after completing their tri-nation series commitments.
He acknowledged that the arrangement was not ideal but pointed out that the players had remained active in competitive cricket.
“We didn't get the whole team because we were in the middle of a series. We were in the middle of a tri-nation series and it just so happens that quite a few of our players who play in both ODI and Test cricket were involved,” said Simmons.
“So no, it's not the total ideal situation but the guys weren't sitting down as they were playing cricket. So there's still a lot there and it's just for these two days for us to put things together as a whole squad,” he said.
Simmons also expressed hope that Litton Kumar Das would be available for the opening Test, despite lingering doubts over his fitness.
“As far as I know, Litton Kumar is available. Over the next two days, if things change, I'll let you all know, but right now he's available,” said Simmons.
He also stressed that the prospect of reaching the World Test Championship final remained a strong motivation for the squad.
“I think everyone is very focused on the Test match. I think there's that goal and that desire to play in the World Test Championship final and this is the first time we've had that opportunity to be there and I think everyone is going to be up and ready for the Test matches,” he said.
Bangladesh have three two-Test series remaining in the current World Test Championship cycle. They begin with the home series against West Indies, followed by an away assignment against South Africa, before concluding their campaign against England at home next year. Bangladesh need to win at least four of their remaining six Tests and draw one to secure a place in the WTC final.
