New Bangladesh, same old problems as their Asia Cup campaign ends with a whimper and big issues to address.
Old habits die hard for new Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s nervousness and eventual collapse when chasing a target of 136 against Pakistan was in line with their recent record in comparable scenarios in key competitions. In contrast to past times, however, Bangladesh fought throughout the Asia Cup, both on and off the pitch, until the match against Pakistan, when they fell apart.
When they faced elimination in the group stage against Afghanistan, they remained composed and managed to defend a low total. They passed Sri Lanka on the sea. Then, although losing, they displayed bravery by resting four players against India, which seemed like a sensible option.
In addition, this was Bangladesh’s first competition since their most seasoned cricket players were dropped. Some of the most crucial batting positions in the starting lineup had to be occupied by a number of new (or perhaps unfamiliar) players.
They displayed moments of bravery and some creative thought. They panicked, however, when a spot in the final was up for grabs. It seemed as though Bangladesh was haunted by the ghosts of previous tournaments. But even though the long-term plan isn’t quite working yet, it appears to be coming together.
With differing degrees of success, Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain, and Saif Hassan have all thrown caution to the wind. The remaining hitters have also adopted a six-hitting strategy that is foreign to Bangladesh. They took a sort of leap of faith last year, hitting 122 sixes in 24 matches before hitting 143 sixes in 21 T20Is this year. The increase is one-dimensional, though, because despite their gains there, their overall strike rate hasn’t improved to the same extent due to poor strike rotation.
Unsurprisingly, Bangladesh’s greatest strength at the Asia Cup was their bowling. They maintained their dominant positions with their varied pace attack, and their spin attack—which no longer depends on left-arm spin—was strong, with offspinner Mahedi Hasan and legspinner Rishad Hossain contributing frequently. Nasum Ahmed, a left-arm spinner, also produced a game-winning performance.
Additionally, Bangladesh has demonstrated their ability to switch between fast bowlers and spinners based on the situation, the competition, and the players’ level of fitness.
Although it was a brave and sensible choice to rest Taskin Ahmed against India because they had less than 24 hours until their next match, it was the opposite of what was intended when Tanzid was benched for the Pakistan match. For the past 18 months, Tanzid has targeted bowling in the powerplay; therefore, it was a betrayal of their own plans to abandon the plan in a hypothetical knockout match.
Although Mahedi has played this position in the past, he lacks the record against good fast bowling to support the alteration in their batting lineup, which was ostensibly made to allow him to attack fast bowling in the powerplay.
The fact that Bangladesh is only competitive in bilateral series was further demonstrated by their elimination from the Asia Cup. Although they have previously managed to escape difficult circumstances there, they are unable to escape comparable circumstances in multi-team competitions.
Later this week, they will play six white-ball matches versus Afghanistan to get back to the grind. In preparation for the T20 World Cup the following year, their leadership group—coaches and captains—must make some sound strategies and tough choices. They would not want to enter the tournament without a successful strategy, but they need also have enough faith in it to stick with it when it counts most.