Bangladesh played 46 international matches in the year 2021. They won 20 matches, lost 25, and drew one match. Bangladesh have three captains for each format, that had resulted in a variance of outcomes. ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal had the best % winning ratio among the captains, indicating that Bangladesh are a strong limited-overs team. Team tigers won the majority of international matches under T20 captain Mahmudullah's leadership, while Mominul was the most unsuccessful captain. Let's take a look at three captains' performances in 2021.  

2021 International Record: Bangladesh National Men’s Cricket Team  

The Bangladesh national men's cricket team had a packed calendar in the year 2021. Team Tigers played most of their international matches in the twenty20 format. As a result, they won the bulk of their matches in the shortest format. The majority of their losses also came in the T20 format, as predicted. Bangladesh won two of their historic T20 series under the captaincy of Mahmudullah Riyad, but he also had the most defeats as captain. ODI captain Tamim Iqbal did not play any international matches in the second half of the year, but he had a better winning ratio than the other two. Mominul Haque continued to struggle as Test captain in the year 2021.  

Here is the format-wise Bangladesh’s international record in 2021 

             Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/

Captains' Performance Review for the Year 2021

Bangladesh began their 2021 international campaign with a three-match One-Day International series against the West Indies at home. Team Tigers thrashed the Caribbean side in that series. However, Bangladesh's year came to an end with a 2-0 Test series loss to Pakistan at home. The following is a breakdown of each Bangladesh captain's performance.

Mominul Haque (Test)

Match as Captain: 7 | Won: 1 | Lost: 5 | Draw: 1

Left-hand batter Mominul Haque is still learning the art of captaincy and will require more time to adjust as a leader. Mominul recently guided Bangladesh to a historic Test match victory in New Zealand. Winning a match in New Zealand is a huge accomplishment for Mominul and the Bangladesh Test team. However, the Mominul-led Bangladesh Test team did not do well in 2021. Team Tigers won their lone Test match away from home, against Zimbabwe in July.  

Bangladesh lost the remainder of their longer-version matches last year, aside from their lone Test victory. Bangladesh lost both of their Test series against Pakistan and the West Indies. Bangladesh put up a valiant fight against the West Indies but came up short in both matches. Besides, the performance against Pakistan was subpar. Pakistan dominated both matches and deservedly won each Test match by a big margin. Bangladesh's campaign hoped for a stronger showing against Sri Lanka, however, the Lankans also won the series 1-0. Overall, Mominul had a difficult year as captain last year.  

            Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/

Tamim Iqbal (ODI)

Match as Captain: 12 | Won: 8 | Lost: 4

A second-string West Indian squad visited Bangladesh at the beginning of 2021. Tamim Iqbal-led Bangladesh team thrashed that West Indian side 3-0 in the series. Though this type of outcome was predicted from Bangladesh. The New Zealand tour was Tamim Iqbal's toughest challenge as captain last year. As predicted, Bangladesh lost the ODI series (3-0) to New Zealand. They came close to winning in the second encounter in Christchurch but fell short against the Kiwis. Bangladesh went on to win two more ODI series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.

Tamim did a decent job as captain overall but all of Bangladesh's ODI victories in 2021 were predicted. Everyone would have applauded Tamim if his side had won a match on New Zealand soil.

            Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/

Mahmudullah Riyad (T20I)

Match as Captain: 27 | Won: 11 | Lost: 16  

Bangladesh lost their first and last T20I series of the year 2021 against New Zealand and Pakistan respectively. However, the captain of the Twenty20 team Mahmudullah Riyad was strongly criticized following his performance in the T20 World Cup 2021. Bangladesh did not win a match in the Super 12s, but more importantly, they lost a match against Scotland in the qualifiers. Fans were disappointed by Bangladesh's overall performance at the mega event.

Prior to the twenty20 World Cup 2021, Bangladesh had won two major home series against Australia and New Zealand, respectively. Many argue that winning two home series on slow pitches sent the wrong message to Bangladeshi players. As a result, Bangladeshi cricketers did not reach their full potential during the mega event. Another T20 series triumph for Bangladesh came against Zimbabwe in July. Overall, the team had made little progress in this format despite the fact that the Mahmudullah-led side won a record 11 T20 matches for Bangladesh in 2021.  

              Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/

Aftermath

None of the Bangladesh captains had shown much progress in terms of pushing the team to the next level last year. They all enjoyed some success as captains. but that was to be anticipated from the Bangladesh side. Winning two bilateral home series against Australia and New Zealand were two of the most noteworthy achievements in 2021, and T20 skipper Mahmudullah Riyad deserves credit for both.