The defeat against Trinidad & Tobago in the last match of the quadrangular series was the worst possible way to end the Tigers’ preparation for the
T20 world cup. The tournament — won by Afghanistan — has reaffirmed the fact that, on a given day, any team can emerge victorious in this format of the game.
Despite the series loss, chief selector Akram Khan remained positive about Bangladesh’s performance. “Anything can happen in T20 cricket. The loss will perhaps encourage our players to work harder in the world cup,” he said. Khan further said that the team is in a much better position to play T20 cricket today, courtesy of the preparatory matches that they played in the last couple of months.
He was also happy about the individual performances of a number of players in the team, and Mohammad Ashraful’s in particular. The game against Trinidad saw Ashraful score a 21-ball 30, which included four boundaries and a six. He had earlier scored 47 runs in quick time against Afghanistan. “It’s good to see our prime players coming to form right before the tournament. I hope they can carry the confidence into the world cup,” said Khan.
Amongst the bowlers, young Abul Hasan picked up three wickets in the series and will definitely be in contention for a place in the starting eleven. Abdul Razzaq was the pick of the bowlers for Bangladesh on this tour. He picked up four wickets in two games and bowled at a decent economy rate of below five.
The Tigers, who’ll reach Colombo on Wednesday, will be playing two more warm-up games before the start of the tournament. They’ll face Zimbabwe on September 15 and Ireland on the 17th.The cricketers will then play their group matches against New Zealand and Pakistan — at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium — on September 21 and 25 respectively.
The last three months saw the cricketers play three different T20 tours, starting with the tri-nation series in Zimbabwe. While the Men in Green did beat both South Africa and Zimbabwe in the series, they failed to get a berth in the finals. The European tour saw Bangladesh whitewash Ireland but lose one game each to Netherlands and Scotland.
While certain analysts claim that Bangladesh’s failure to defeat teams like the Netherlands and Trinidad are warning signs of a possible catastrophe in the upcoming world cup, others state that the different tours will help the cricket team adjust faster to the conditions in Sri Lanka.
Whether playing a flurry of T20 games in different conditions against weaker opponents was the right call is a question that only time can answer. As things stand now, only a knockout berth in the world cup can make all these tours seem worth it.
-With The Daily Star input
