Sabbir Hossain :Bangladesh National Cricket team showed very poor performance in its campaign for the ICC World Twenty20 Cricket. Its performance was also shamefully dismal in recently concluded Asia Cup. They lost in all the four matches in the first phase and failed to move to the final at the end. It is noteworthy that Bangladesh became runners-up in the Asia Cup 2012. The 16 crore cricket lovers of the country expected a better result from the Tigers but they broke the heart of the crazy cricket fans of Bangladesh. All hopes have been dashed and money wasted by their reckless performance in the pitch. In the qualifying round of the ICC World Twenty20 Cricket, Bangladesh lost to minnows Hong Kong. But by virtue of a better run rate. Tigers qualified in the final round (Super Ten) of the tournament. In the Group-2 phase of the competition, Bangladesh tasted defeat to the West Indies by 73 runs, to India by eight wickets, to Pakistan by 50 runs and to Australia by seven wickets. The dismal performance has prompted angry reactions from many quarters. They held the view that National Cricket Team could not be for fun and foreign trips. They must be forced to rigorous training and discipline, trimming exposure of some of their big players on TV commercials. Business and cricket can’t go together. To find out some way to reorganise the team, some cricket critics, veteran journalists, coaches, and former players of National Cricket team expressed their anguish and expectations to this correspondent. Former cricketer and veteran journalist Md Quamruzzaman said, “The BCB boss should resign for the dismal performance of the team taking the responsibilities. Captain of Bangladesh National Cricket team Mushfiqur Rahim should also quit from his post.”He said, “It seemed the players of the Bangladesh team surrendered to their opponents without any resistance. To reorganise the Bangladesh cricket team, BCB should take necessary steps.” Former coach of Bangladesh National Cricket team Jalal Ahmed Chowdhury said, “The players of National Cricket team are like the top of a tree. But those players, who are taking part in the domestic cricket and age group cricket are the roots of Bangladesh’s cricket. If we want to nurture our cricket, we have to give water to the roots to get a stronger tree. BCB should promote the cricket academies and organise age groups competitions and domestic cricket competitions closely tied to their annual calendar.”Chowdhury said, “Shohag Gazi, Farhad Reza, Mominul Haque, Abul Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Shamsur Rahman all were picked up by BCB in Bangladesh National Cricket team in recognition of their performance in the age group cricket competitions.”He said, “BCB should change their practicing process and involve the local coaches.” He said, “The players are serious in international matches at home and abroad.” “It seemed that there are some other problems in the squad.” he observed.Former opener of Bangladesh National Cricket team Javed Omar said, “The players of this team have the capability to play good cricket. BCB should appoint a psychologist to motivate the players to regain their confidence. Besides, the cricketers should develop their physical and mental strength by their own motivation.”Javed said, “The players do not play to enjoy foreign trips or they don’t take the game lightly either.” Omar said, “The Board should arrange the Premier Division Cricket League, National Cricket League, Age Group meet, School Cricket Competitions according to the pre-fixed calendar.”Former cricketer of Bangladesh National Cricket team and Computer Analyst Nasir Ahmed Nasu said, “We have to find out weaknesses of the cricketers. We don’t have many good cricketers in the pipeline. We need more talented players to grow, who can perform better in the shorter version of cricket.”There was no grouping in the Bangladesh team, he said.He further said, “The performance of Bangladesh team in the ICC World Twenty20 Cricket 2014 was not so bad. The skilled batsmen of the opponents have a better strike rate.”The players of Bangladesh showed poor performance in fielding. They dropped a number of catches in every match.” He said, “If players of Bangladesh can overcome their weaknesses, they can again show good performance.”Noted sports commentator Manzoor Hasan Minto said, “If the coach and the selectors do their duty properly, Bangladesh will overcome the crisis.” He said, “The expectation of the cricket lovers of the country is higher than that of the ability of the cricketers. Bangladesh should play against Ireland, Netherlands, Zimbabwe, Nepal to regain their confidence.”If the cricketers get some rest, he believes that they will again perform good cricket. Coach SB Chowdhury Shishir said, “The players and the officials should leave their selfish mentality. Some of the players were engaged in commercial advertisements. It seemed there is a grouping in the squad. Mushfiqur Rahim need not resign from his post. “Shishir said, “We have hardly any international umpire from our country. It is shameful for us that there is no local umpire and also no match referee in the ICC World Twenty20 Cricket 2014 when it is being played in our home ground.” Meanwhile, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Saturday served a show cause notice on the team management for Tigers’ poor performance in the ongoing ICC World Twenty20 Cricket. President of BCB Nazmul Hassan Papon said on Saturday, “Our ability to play the shortest format of international cricket is lesser than other countries.” ‘The team needs restructuring with more new players and T20 specialists, he said.
