Bangladesh Cricket Board officials could come up with only detailed but vague explanations for the Bangladesh national team鈥檚 subpar showing in the recently concluded T20 World Cup.
Bangladesh crashed out of the Super Eight stage of the tournament as they failed to chase down 116 in 12.1 overs against Afghanistan, which would have sent them into the semi-finals.
Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto said after the game that they had planned to chase it down in 12.1 overs until the third wicket fell but then resorted to just trying to win 鈥� which they did not 鈥� once those wickets fell quickly.
While BCB president Nazmul Hasan, following a directors鈥� meeting at the BCB offices, said that such a plan was unacceptable, he did not elaborate on the matter, saying he needed to talk to the team management before disclosing details.
However, what he did eloquently was provide some vague answers, stating that the team was going through a transition as players such as Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim have left and that the senior players in the team, i.e., Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Shanto, and Liton Das did not match expectations.
The BCB president also added that this tournament was a different one for them as they had played five inexperienced players 鈥� Towhid Hridoy, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Rishad Hossain, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, and Jaker Ali Anik 鈥� for the World Cup, and the first three had come good for them, and accepting that T20Is is a format where Bangladesh lag behind, Nazmul insisted that they needed 10-12 players more to make the leap.
The only clear answer the board president provided was that they were extending their contract with spin coach Mushtaq Ahmed, although he did not disclose for how long they were extending it for.
The other outcomes from the directors鈥� meeting included approving BCB High-Performance team鈥檚 tour to Australia, which will include two four-day matches, three 50-over matches, and a T20 tournament where the Pakistan Shaheens and five Big Bash teams will play, alongside tenders for Sheikh Hasina Stadium and buying ground equipment for SBNS in Dhaka, Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram, and Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet.
