Another big game, another below par effort and another defeat. Hasn't this been the story of Bangladesh ever since they have started playing competitive Cricket? In their 14 years of being a nation good enough to play Test Cricket, all they have had to show is a handful of upsets and a few bits and pieces Cricketers. It is a very monotonous and a saddening story with Bangladesh's Cricket. Every time you see them showing sparks of good Cricket, you hope (only to end up in despair) that one day they will become a tough team to beat. It hasn't happened as of yet and I strongly believe it won't happen in the near future. It is not everyday that I use such blunt words, but when I do, I try and make sure there is logic and reason behind it.
When Bangladesh had beaten Australia in that ODI at Cardiff on the back of that blistering hundred from Ashraful, I certainly believed that it wasn't a fluke. It wasn't anything like Australia dropped a lot of catches or had rested their key players. It was a typical full-strength Australian side and I thought Ashraful played a remarkable knock to see Bangladesh home. Now scoring a hundred against Australia in alien conditions that too while chasing a stiff target is no child's play. You would expect Ashraful to grow and emerge in confidence and become a player to watch out for. It never happened. Yes, he was always the best batsman Bangladesh had but he never delivered when it actually mattered in the matches later on. Call it pressure or whatever it was, but Ashraful never became the Cricketer we all thought he had it in him. And, the way his career ended was absolutely disgraceful for his fans, at least for me.
Now the next crop of Cricketers like the Mortazas, the Tamim Iqbals, the Mahmadullahs and the Shakibs did catch peoples' eyes with sparkling performances from time to time. There was never a shortage of talent or ability in Bangladeshi Cricketers. It is their poor temperament which makes us believe that all their wins have been flukes. The 2007 World Cup upset by Bangladesh had a lasting impression among many a Cricket fan. Then when they also won against South Africa we all thought that it was finally time that Bangladesh had arrived on the big stage. But, still it wasn't to be. They even lost to Ireland in the Super 8s. They lost almost everything post the World Cup too. They haven't made a knockout stage of any of the ICC events since then. They did reach the finals of the Asia Cup in 2012, but gave it away in the end. Flawlessness was never a virtue of Bangladesh Cricket. The negatives have often been greater than the positives.
Bangladesh had been awarded the status of being a Test playing nation back in 2000, when they played their first Test match against India. Till date, Bangladesh have won only two Test series that too against Zimbabwe and West Indies. They did manage to draw a series against New Zealand this year and one against West Indies early on, but that's about it. In 14 years of being a Test playing nation, Bangladesh have won only 4 test matches out of the 83 that have been played. It is a very dismal stat this. I strongly believe, Bangladesh don't deserve to be a test playing nation. There are far better talented and determined Cricketers in Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan. Cricketers who are willing to give their 100% every single time and emerge among the finest, which are lacking to a great extent in Bangladesh. Also, there is a general blend of undisciplined Cricketers when it comes to Bangladesh. Ashraful ended up in a fixing scandal; we all know about the lewd gestures made by Shakib in front of the camera recently. The Tamim Iqbals, the Mortazas and the Rubel Hossains with their periodic media chatter and controversies haven't been particularly good boys either. It is time they pulled up the socks and focused on their Cricket.
You would think that I am going really hard at Bangladesh's Cricket and that it is too early to put them off. But, take the example of Sri Lanka. Even they started playing competitive Cricket at a later stage and were minnows for a while. SL started playing Test Cricket in 1981, however by the 1990s they were already a very tough team to beat. They had a much more settled and a dangerous unit comprising of the Ranatungas, the Jayasuriyas and the Murlis by then. They went on to win the 1996 World Cup. One-two years down the line they even started winning abroad! Bangladesh don't even consistently put up a good fight in their home conditions.
In a Cricket crazy country like Bangladesh, there will never be a shortage of talent. It's just that they need a proper administration and people who would inculcate the values of hard work and discipline among the youngsters. When I say discipline here, I refer to the Cricketing discipline like sticking to the basics, bowling a consistent line and length, being prudent in the shot selection and so on. Dave Whatmore played a huge role in building up such a foundation in his tenure as the Bangla coach, things would have been a lot more worse if it wasn't for him. But, I believe there is a lot more work to be done at the grass roots level. The Bangladesh Premiere League needs to go, at least for now. With the amount of fixing scrutiny it has come under, things wouldn't get any better with its presence. Building up a clean and a competitive administration should be Bangladesh's priority numero uno.
I also recommend more competitive Cricket and Test playing status for the likes of Ireland and Afghanistan. In the little Cricket that I have seen them play, I believe they have the talent and the ability that is required at the international level. Short tours of 1-2 Tests and maybe 3 ODIs to bigger Cricketing nations would do them a world of good. Such tours would be a great learning curve and good performances against big countries would motivate a lot of youngsters from these nations. All it takes is one opportunity, one little ray of spotlight.
