Bangladesh talk about winning trophies before every big tournament but do not back it up on the field, stand-in captain Towhid Hridoy said on after his side went out of the tri-nation series in the UAE.
“When we go to play a big series, a tri-series, the Asia Cup or the World Cup, everyone wants to win the trophy, individually and as a team,” Hridoy told a press conference after the seven-wicket defeat to Afghanistan.
“But we only say it. It doesn’t show in what we do,” he added.
Bangladesh needed to beat Afghanistan by at least 41 runs to reach the final after Hridoy won the toss and chose to bat. They lost two wickets for six runs in 1.3 overs and four of their top five, Hridoy among them, inside seven overs. They were bowled out for 160 without batting their 50 overs.
“We lost a few wickets early. I think that was the main reason,” Hridoy said at the post-match presentation.
He is leading the side in the absence of the injured Liton Das.
Hridoy said the problem was not confined to one position when he was asked if Bangladesh has enough batters in the pipeline.
“I don’t want to single out one place, because the whole batting unit failed together. There are certainly enough players in the pipeline,” he said.
He also defended the state of the team. “I don’t want to judge the whole team on one or two matches or one or two series. I’d say the team is in a good place, but as a batting unit we have batted very badly in every match we’ve played away. That’s why the whole team is suffering.”
Bangladesh had won home ODI series against West Indies, Pakistan, New Zealand and Australia before July, when they lost a series in Zimbabwe.
They failed to chase 141 in the first match there and 234 in the next. In the tri-nation series, they did not reach 200 in either of their two matches.
Hridoy pointed to next year’s Asia Cup, which Bangladesh will host.
“The Asia Cup at home is a big opportunity for us. We have to sit down properly, or do whatever it takes, to get the team into a good position, because the Asia Cup is an important stage for us. Hopefully, Inshallah, we’ll do something good,” he said.