The Bangladesh Cricket Board gave a dressing down to the Tigers on Sunday after they suffered an embarrassing 32-run defeat to Afghanistan which effectively threw the hosts out of the Asia Cup title race. The defeat to a non-Test playing country came less than a month after the International Cricket Council had debated their Test status and nearly approved a two-tier system.The BCB successfully bargained to save the Tigers’ Test status, however, the players did nothing to justify their argument, leaving the fans and officials red-faced.
BCB president Nazmul Hasan, who had to encounter a volley of questions from the other cricket boards over Bangladesh’s eligibility as a Test nation, summoned coach Shane Jurgensen and captain Mushfiqur Rahim separately for an explanation and held a similar meeting with members of the selection committee.
Cricket operations committee chairman Akram Khan and media committee chairman Jalal Yunus were present in the meetings during which several issues were discussed including rumours of disharmony in the team in recent times.
‘The coach appeared confused as to why the players failed to perform as per the plan tabled in front of them,’ said Jalal.
‘The coach said that he had asked Nasir [Hossain] and Naeem [Islam] to hold their nerves and carry on playing ones and twos during the match but both of them went out going over the top,’ he said.
Set a target of 255, Bangladesh lost two wickets in the first two overs before the middle-order regrouped to bring them back in the contest. However, the dismissal of Nasir and Naeem in the space of five balls trigged another collapse as Bangladesh were finally all out for 222.
Mushfiq, who termed the defeat as the most humiliating of his career and argued that the players should be replaced, said that they are yet to figure out why they lost a game they should have won easily.
Cricket’s governing body observed that a lack of commitment and self-discipline among some players led to the downfall and felt that a manager with a strong personality might have been able to help the Tigers’ cause.
Two first-time directors Awal Chowdhury and Nazmul Karim managed the Tigers in the Sri Lanka series and Asia Cup respectively, both of which produced some heartbreaking results.
Jalal added that they need a manager who can bridge the gap between the players and the board and Jurgensen also felt the same way.
‘We have noticed things are not going in the right direction,’ said Jalal.
‘The coach also felt that a manager with a good understanding of his job can also be helpful,’ he said.
Jalal promised to look into the matter about how certain players received permission from the board to take part in endorsement programmes during the middle of the series.
Mushfiq, Nasir and Tamim Iqbal were recently signed up as brand ambassadors of cellular operator Grameenphone while Sakib al Hasan agreed a mega deal with their rival company Banglalink. Although the players had obtained permission from the cricket operations committee, Jalal said that the BCB will investigate if they had any distracting effect on the players.
The BCB is particularly worried over the performance of Nasir who contributed a lot in their recent successes before losing his focus.
Nasir, who recently participated in a television commercial of an energy drink alongside a top model, appeared tired throughout the Sri Lanka series and Asia Cup and dropped several catches throughout both the competitions.
Officials also noticed weariness amongst off-spinner Sohag Gazi, who did not put up any significant performance since his hat-trick and hundred in a Test match against New Zealand in October.
‘We are trying to motivate the players in every possible way. But still, if they cannot perform we will not tolerate it anymore. The players were given this message clearly in [Sunday’s] meeting between the coach and captain,’ said Jalal.
-With New Age input
