The Bangladesh team management made some strategic mistakes in their 50-run loss to India in a crucial T20 World Cup Super Eight clash in Antigua on Saturday. It leaves question marks over the Tigers’ planning around the biggest games on the biggest stages.
It is not normal for Bangladesh to reach the Super Eight of a T20 World Cup.
If the bowlers had taken them to the Super Eight stage, the batsmen failed to live up to international standards throughout the tournament, especially in the two Super Eight matches against Australia and India.
The coach had talked about playing with freedom, given that they had already achieved their goal of reaching the Super Eight. But ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was of the opinion that such freedom could never take effect as the batsman’s willow rarely spoke for itself.
“Obviously, we are short of runs as a batting unit. So the freedom that we needed, the confidence that we needed, I don’t think it was there,” Shakib said in the post-match press conference against India.
What has the coaching staff done to improve hitting efforts?
Nic Pothas had previously managed the Tigers’ batting unit before David Hemp took over the responsibility. However, it is clear that the batting has declined in recent times and the home surfaces have not helped. Although these surfaces were prepared according to the wishes of the team management, Bangladesh batsmen have not fared well either on sports courts, such as the one in Antigua, or on the more difficult and slower courts of this World Cup.
In fact, when the time came, they dropped a pacer, Taskin Ahmed, from the lineup to make room for an extra batsman – batsman Jaker Ali. Taskin has been able to establish the bowling unit’s aggression on various surfaces recently, but the advantage that the management felt could be exploited by making this change was not evident. The extra batsman did not mean Bangladesh went for the game head-on, evident by another tame Powerplay effort as he chased a target of 197 runs.
If what Bangladesh were looking for was to attack and have freedom to attack, they strategically prohibited themselves from attacking with their strongest department, which is their bowling. Instead, they stacked the lineup with underperforming batsmen against India.
The Tigers’ think tank also misread the pitch and that led to a huge ineffectiveness in their bowling effort. Questions arose as to why Bangladesh opened with spinners from both sides against two of the best spin players in Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Shakib understandably took no responsibility for the decision to bowl first and use spinners so extensively in the Powerplay, citing it as “the coach’s and the captain’s decision”. However, Shakib mentioned that the team management’s decision could be based on his perception of playing on a slower surface.
After Afghanistan’s historic victory over Australia yesterday, which kept the Tigers afloat at the mega event, their captain Rashid Khan highlighted that their coaching staff often reminds them of the specific plans discussed in team meetings. Bangladesh, on the other hand, seemed desolate, with no particular strategy to exploit.
