If winning is a habit, losing is no different. No team knows it better than Bangladesh, who own the dubious record of losing the most consecutive Tests and one-day internationals. They had the same ignominy in Twenty20s too until Zimbabwe surpassed their record in 2012.
So it is not a completely new situation that Bangladesh are in now. Match after match they have tried to find some positives and to remain focused, giving hope to the fans only for it disappear very quickly.
Yet, they never lost heart. Even a winless streak of five years, which prompted many to ridicule them, could not make them downbeat. Players were as smiling as ever, which sometimes raised questions about whether it all hurts them.
Gone are the days when the Tigers would gladly accept the defeats and search for positives in the debris. Two defeats against Hong Kong and West Indies, one the last-placed qualifier and the other the defending champions of the ICC World Twenty20, appeared to have completely destroyed their confidence.
The team that will face India today in their second Super-10 match in Mirpur are a shadow of the team that made top-ranked Sri Lanka sweat in a recent series and then thrashed Afghanistan and Nepal in the opening two matches of this competition.
Opponents have still got enough respect for them, and theoretically they have not been eliminated, but these things have no meaning to the demoralised home side. It appears their only motto now is to finish the tournament as early as possible and get away from all these humiliations.
No one really cares that if they can beat India the group will be wide open, giving them a chance too. With spin-wary Australia and unpredictable Pakistan to follow, a win against India would keep them very much in the race.
It would be unfair to blame the players alone. Even Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan has started to think beyond the tournament. He vowed a massive change after they tournament, delivering a further blow to the confidence of the trembling Tigers.
The players accepted the criticism without managing to gather the courage to tell him that the tournament is not yet over. All they did was make promises, albeit without any conviction.
‘I find it hard to comment on it,’ said former captain Mashrafee bin Murtaza. ‘It is only natural for everyone to talk after these two losses. As players, we have to accept it. We have to try and turn around for the next game.
‘We lost the two games pretty disappointingly. We want to play well, fight as much as we can. We will play to win for sure, but above everything else, we have to start well,’ Mashrafee said in a choked voice.
-With New Age input
