Six things that are wrong with Bangladesh cricket

When the World Cup 2015 groups were announced, not many Bangladesh fans were optimistic about their chances of progressing to the quarter-finals; having been pitted against the likes of host New Zealand, Sri Lanka, England and Australia, their country’s chances were slim.But Bangladesh, against all odds, progressed to the next round – after defeating a terrible England – and played in the quarter final of a cricket World Cup for the very first time. It was a great achievement for the team, and the fans were now highly optimistic about their team going all the way.However, India shattered those hopes when they knocked the men in green out of the tournament. A lot of uproar commenced hence, as poor umpiring was one of the reasons for their exit. But looking just at that is exactly where the fault lies. Here are the 6 things that are wrong with Bangladesh cricket:

#1 Too much talk, too little action

At first, very few expected Bangladesh to reach the quarters. But when they did, many people got ahead of themselves.

While hope is a great thing, what Bangladeshi fans were claiming was beyond the borders of hope – it was overconfidence coated with arrogance. Yes, Bangladesh had beaten India in the 2007 World Cup and the 2012 Asia Cup, but the way many Bangladesh fans reacted prior to the India game gave one the impression that it was India who were ranked No.9 in the ODIs and had zero World Cups and that Bangladesh had won it twice.

This is the problem with us Bangladesh fans – too much talk which then goes on to bite us in the behind. And the worst part is that we repeat it once again at the very next opportunity. In the end, India beat Bangladesh by a little assistance from the umpires – and that was it.

Now Bangladesh fans have someone else to blame – the umpires – rather than keep a check on their insolent overconfidence and naivety. We Bangladeshi fans are like the Nicklas Bendtner of cricket – too much talk, but too little to show for it.

#2 Overzealous nature

This is a problem at both players and fans level. We are a bunch of over-passionate people. And we really can’t be blamed for that, for it is in our blood.

We are the only country in the world that had to spill blood for speaking our very own Bangla language. The international language day that the world celebrates on February 21st has Bangladesh to thank for its existence. Bangla was completely banned by the then Pakistan government, and anyone who communicated in it was brutally punished.

Many martyrs gave their lives away for us to be able to speak our mother tongue. And then in 1971, contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t India who created Bangladesh – it was another 3 million martyrs and some more surviving freedom fighters who gave breath to this country.

Hence, the passion is in our blood as we had to struggle for everything we have now.

When a wicket falls, the players react as if they have won the World Cup. In fact, Mashrafe Mortaza became so impassioned that he hurt his already-fragile knee while celebrating against England. Similarly, the fans go wild when a wicket falls or the boundary is crossed – we erupt so wildly that the Earth could quake at any given moment.

While passion is a great thing, too much of it can be a problem. When the players celebrate each wicket like there’s no tomorrow, the heat goes out of them and that reduces the intensity of bowling from that point. In most of the cases, we celebrate as if it is our last – and that actually becomes the case for that match.

#3 Tamim Iqbal

Tamim Iqbal is the most inscrutable player in the world of cricket. There is no doubt about the amount of talent he possesses. And that is why his sphinx-like inconsistency baffles many. On his day, and that day comes as rarely as original Anushka Sharma-Virat Kohli jokes, he is Bangladesh’s most explosive batsman – someone who can single-handedly win you games.

However, what perplexes people even more is that no matter how bad he plays, he still finds himself in the starting XI. It’s as if he can kill all the bunnies in the world and still not be dropped from the playing XI.

It is not like it wasn’t tried. Tamim was once removed from the team, and it caused a massive tumult – so much that the Prime Minister of Bangladesh herself had to request selector Akram Khan to revoke his resignation. Why did he resign? Because Tamim was removed from the team. So what? The next slide has the answer.

#4 Akram Khan being Tamims uncle

Reference has more value than skills and hard work: This is another major problem this country faces. The very image of Bangladesh is found in its cricket team – if you have relative/friend in at the top, you are bound to have an easy ride because of it.

Akram Khan’s presence in the selectors’ panel gives Tamim that free ride. He can score 100 ducks in a row and still act like he owns the team – because, literally, he does. When Tamim Iqbal was dropped from the team, his uncle resigned – which forced the BCB to bring Tamim back in the team.

Akram Khan is a legend of Bangladesh cricket – of this, there is no doubt. He is the reason why Bangladesh are playing Test cricket, and we owe a lot to him. He rose at a time when the cricket infrastructure in the country was at its lowest and when the team itself wasn’t anywhere near the level as it is now.

However, his bias towards his nephew is costing the team to some extent. One could look at Tamim’s face and tell that his level of determination has drastically dropped when compared to his initial years. And it is high time that he is dropped. Granted, he played a big innings against Scotland, but a good innings once in a while isn’t enough.

Given Tamim’s temperament, it wouldn’t be surprising if he gets frustrated after he reads this (if he does, that is). But the truth is that it is high time that Akram Khan strengthens his heart, keeps family connection aside and shows Tamim the door and only open it once he is ready.

#5 Underuse/Misuse of talent

This has been Bangladesh’s biggest problem for a long time. We don’t know how to use talent. In this regard, Bangladesh should look at Dr. Dre for inspiration – he knows that he is not a talented rapper, so he decided to produce quality headphones.

A look at how Mominul Haque and Taijul Islam were treated in this World Cup would give you a perfect idea about the terrible way we misuse talent.

Mominul is the most technically gifted batsman in the Bangladesh team along with Soumya Sarkar. While the latter was given the chance to shine, which he grabbed with both hands, the former was given a chance to glow…at number 9. Imagine if Kumar Sangakkara or Sourav Ganguly were played at number 9 during their initial years, where would they be now?

Similarly, despite being in superb form before the World Cup, Taijul was allowed to play in just one game, while Imrul Kayes, one of the most painful ODI batsmen to watch, was given the nod twice despite not being in any form whatsoever. The argument was that he is an opener and Bangladesh didn’t have openers. Well, Mominul would certainly have done better than him if he was played at opening.

After insulting Mominul like that, he was then thrown out of the playing XI – never to be brought back in it. If this is the way he is going to be treated, one of the greatest talents of Bangladesh cricket will never realise its tremendous potential.

#6 Mashrafes excess wrath

For the first time ever were Bangladesh playing the quarter-final. And for the first ever was 19-year-old Taskin Ahmed playing in a World Cup.

And when he took the wicket of MS Dhoni after conceding 12 runs, Mashrafe went up to the kid and yelled at him so loudly that it probably dried Taskin’s hair (and Sir Alex Ferguson must have been proud).

This is a 19-year-old kid playing in the biggest match of his career – a match where even Mashrafe’s bowling figures were embarrassing and, hence, the captain’s act was a tad hypocritical.

Arun Lal, who was in the commentary box at that time, mentioned something that sounded very true: no matter how hard or pressured the situation is, Dhoni never loses his cool. And this is why the Indian captain is the most successful captain in the history of his country’s cricket.

Mashrafe is the most passionate of the team. He bleeds green. There is not another player who is as patriotic as Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, but that doesn’t mean you can treat youngsters like that. His astute captaincy got Bangladesh to the quarter-final stages of the tournament, but then he lost his cool in the most important match of them all and it affected the team in general as a captain losing his nerve inflicts fear in the teammates’ minds.

Concluding the article, the future is bright for the Bangladesh cricket team. However, these are some of the aspects that should be looked at and improved on if the team are to raise the bar higher.