Wasim Jaffer critical of underperforming senior B’desh players after underwhelming loss to New Zealand end their Champions Trophy campaign.
Wasim Jaffer believes senior Bangladesh players ‘just don’t turn up’ in ICC events.
Bangladesh’s batting unit has been under intense scrutiny after yet another disappointing effort in a global event. After two poor totals (228 all out and 236 for 9) they were eliminated from the Champions Trophy, which, according to former Indian batsman Wasim Jaffer, continued the pattern of their more seasoned players skipping ICC tournaments.
The performances of Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim during Tuesday’s five-wicket defeat against New Zealand drew special criticism from Jaffer. In just the 27th over, Bangladesh was five runs down after both men were removed for making reckless shots. The final target was pursued by New Zealand with little effort.
“We’ve only seen probably Shakib [Al Hasan] with that 2019 [ODI] World Cup where he was a standout player,” Jaffer said on ESPNcricinfo’s Match Day. “But I don’t know if it’s the pressure that gets to them or they put too much pressure on themselves, they just don’t turn up.”
With back-to-back hundreds in the 2015 ODI World Cup and a century when Bangladesh defeated New Zealand in the 2017 Champions Trophy, Mahmudullah has a track record of excelling at ICC competitions. However, he suffered an injury that kept him out of their first game and destroyed himself in the second.
“Even the shot selection we’ve seen today was very disappointing,” Jaffer said. “Mushfiq [Mushfiqur] playing that shot, Mahmudullah playing that wild shot. And this is a must-win game. You want them to step up in these kinds of games and make themselves count. So that’s been the story in the ICC events, unfortunately.”
Although “there is a lot to work with” in Bangladesh’s bowling attack, Shane Bond, a former fast bowler for New Zealand, said that their batting appears to be an issue. He added that Bangladesh lost by five wickets in part because of missed fielding opportunities. Mehidy Hasan Miraz dropped Rachin Ravindra on 93 and Mahmudullah on 106 after he had escaped a run-out opportunity at 26.
“I like the look of their bowling attack,” Bond said. “They have got the heat, they have got the left-armer [Mustafizur Rahman] which New Zealand and a team like England doesn’t have. The spinners are good.
“Also the fine margins… they missed chances. If you miss those run-out chances or those dropped catches, they are the difference between winning or losing a game. If they had taken those chances, this game could have been completely different. There is a lot to work with with their bowling attack. I think their batting in the end was the problem.”