Bangladesh, a Shadow of Themselves from 2019

Bangladesh were at their competitive best in 2019. Coming into the World Cup they were seen as a competitive side with their best generation of players all in their peak. A tournament in England though raised questions on their ability to play in English conditions. In 2019 though, Bangladesh answered questions handsomely. They were in condition up until the end of the league stage, and beat some strong teams like South Africa.

They were competitive against the others too and Shakib Al Hasan was center stage. He had 600+ runs and 15+ wickets and was their superman in the tournament. The others around him chipped in just as well with Tamim Iqbal, Mahmadullah, and Mushfiqur Rahim stepping up.

The same group helped them to the Quarter Finals in 2015 as well highlighting why it was a golden generation. With a World Cup in India, 2023 looked like a great chance to sign off with a bang for their star players. The result though a month into the tournament has not been great. Bangladesh stands with only one win against Afghanistan.

See also: Angelo Mathews Timed Out

When Bangladesh automatically qualified after finishing 3rd on the ODI Super League table all looked good. They won an ODI Series in South Africa, at home against India, and built a strong core. Three months before the World Cup though is where the shambles unfolded.

Tamim Iqbal announced a sudden retirement from international Cricket. He was convinced back a day later but stepped down from captaincy due to fitness issues. In September the World Cup squad was announced with Bangladesh leaving out their leading run-scorer in the format, Tamim Iqbal. The announcement came as a shocker.

A series loss to Afghanistan in July started the drama and excess rotation left Tamim unsure of his best combination. By the time the tournament started their captain, Shakib Al Hasan did not look too hopeful. Litton Das, their best batter in the last year started to look inconsistent. Najmul Hossain Shanto who was doing so well all year looked a different player. Mehidy Hasan, moved around the batting line-up in the last six months too started struggling.

Shakib Al Hasan, the captain, carried Bangladesh in the last World Cup at number three. Dropping himself to four, Shakib did not create a significant impact with both bat and ball. They lost their top-order stability after dropping Tamim Iqbal and the effects were on show.

Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmadullah, capable batters too were not spared. With Mehidy Hasan moving up and down the line-up, both the senior pros could not get a settled spot. Their maturity helped them come up with good contributions but by the time they came in it was often too late. Both batters did well to bail Bangladesh out a few times this tournament but that was only to prevent humiliation rather than threaten victory.

The captain and his coach remain at the center of it all. Hathurasingha, into his second tenure as Bangladesh coach after leaving in 2017 took over from Russell Domingo who was pretty good in his tenure. Hathurasingha was asked many times in the interim from 2017 and is a BCB favorite.

Shakib Al Hasan, with his words towards Tamim Iqbal prior to the tournament started something that remains distractive. The distraction created remains one of the key factors with the instability and issues, particularly with the batting line-up. A better handling of Tamim Iqbal’s case could have led to some better results here.

The batting misery though remains unsolved. In the end, Bangladesh continues to give Mahmadulllah and Mushfiqur Rahim, two pillars in their middle-order, a tall order each game. The pair have cleaned up for Bangladesh many times in the past and are on their last legs. The rest of the batting line-up will be under some scrutiny though post the tournament as a golden generation of Bangladesh Cricket goes through what could be their last World Cup.

The journey has been a pretty good one with 5 World Cups between them. Starting with a win against India in 2007 to mark their entry, Bangladesh has grown and fallen. They threatened England in 2011 beating them and knocking England out to seal their own quarter-final spot in 2015. In 2019 too they were contenders up until the Final league game. Now, the journey comes to an end with their golden generation crashing out badly in the group stage.