There was a lot of anticipation before Bangladesh's T20 World Cup 2021 campaign. However, team Tigers were nothing near their best and finished the tournament with five consecutive losses in the Super 12 round. Bangladesh ended in last place in Group 1 points table. Fans and cricket experts slammed the players and the BCB for not living up to expectations. The Bangladesh Cricket Board realizes that reform is required to revive T20 cricket. Let's look at some of the key decisions BCB may make ahead of the next bilateral series against Pakistan at home.
Performances of Bangladesh Players in the T20 World Cup 2021
Neither the batters nor the bowlers played to their full potential. Therefore, Bangladesh only managed to beat weaker opponents Oman and Papua New Guinea in the qualifiers.
Batting
Bangladesh's most successful batsman Mohammad Naim had a couple of solid knocks in the competition. Aside from him, Mahmudullah Riyad and Mushfiqur Rahim both scored a fifty in the tournament. Liton Das, Soumya Sarker, and Afif Hossain were the biggest disappointments. Neither of them made a half-century in the World Cup.
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Bowling
Bangladesh's most successful bowler Shakib Al Hasan took the most 11 wickets and set two significant records during the competition. He went on to become the most successful bowler in the history of the T20 World Cup, as well as the top wicket-taker in T20I.
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Besides, the most effective bowler was pacer Taskin Ahmed, who was praised for his commitment and performance. Left-arm pacer MustafIzur Rahman was the biggest letdown among the bowlers. The cutter-master had the worst economy rate of the front-line bowlers.
Things to consider before Bangladesh's T20I series against Pakistan
BCB has to figure out what's behind these disappointing results. The Bangladesh Cricket Boards should think about the following points.
The final decision on the inconsistent performers
With the exception of opener Mohammad Naim, the Bangladesh batting unit was ineffective throughout the ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2021. So, the Bangladesh Cricket Board must decide whether to keep the present squad or to permanently eliminate a few of the regular underperformers.
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Because some of the players have had opportunities for the past six or seven years but have yet to reach their full potential on the international stage. It would be unreasonable to keep faith in their talents and give them another opportunity.
Taking a chance on newcomers
Bangladesh's U19 team is filled with talents. They won the U19 World Cup in 2020, and these young players have all the abilities they need to thrive on the big stage. BCB should promote some of the bright players from this group in the forthcoming series against Pakistan.
The final decision on the captaincy
Bangladesh's failure to meet expectations during the World Cup is not entirely down to Captain Mahmudullah. However, being a captain he can't deny his inability to encourage the team. Now BCB must decide whether to put their faith in Mahmudullah in the forthcoming bilateral series or give over the role to ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal.
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Bangladesh vs. Pakistan T20I Series Fixtures
Pakistan will play the host Bangladesh in three T20I series and two Test matches. Pakistan's tour will begin with a T20I format series. All of the matches will take place at SBNCS in Mirpur and the scheduled start time is 6.30 p.m (Bangladesh Standard Time).
T20I series fixture:
1st match: 19 November | 2nd match: 20 November | 3rd match: 22 November
Way Forward
A lot of things didn't go as planned for Bangladesh's cricket team in the T20 World Cup 2021. They had outstanding preparation prior to the tournament, winning two home series against Australia and New Zealand. However, cricket experts were concerned that the wickets on which Bangladesh played the Australians and the Blackcaps at home weren't suitable for World Cup preparation. Their worries were justified as Bangladesh were heavily outplayed by their opponents in the Super 12 Round. The BCB must now make significant decisions in order to resurrect Bangladesh's T20 cricket.