The immature exit of the Bangladesh national cricket team from the Asia Cup with very poor performance broke the hearts of millions of fans at home. Sri Lanka chased down Bangladesh’s competitive total of 183 for seven with four balls to spare on Thursday in Dubai.
It was missed catches and no-balls, leading to reprieves on multiple occasions, that saw the game eventually slip away from Shakib Al Hasan and his troops. With players, members of the team management and former cricketers of both the sides engaging in a war of words preceding the game, it made for a tense atmosphere. Sri Lanka began the chase cautiously after seeing off the first three overs.
We know corruption in domestic cricket has been a long-running plague that is at the root of the rot in Bangladesh’s cricketing structure, with bias and favouritism a consistent feature in players selection. Before the Asia Cup, the BCB president Nazmul Hassan said, “There’s not going to be a head coach. We have a batting coach, a spin coach, fast bowling coach and fielding coach. We have the captain. We also have a technical consultant for T20s. He will give the game plan”.
The BCB has had this reputation of being meddlesome when it comes to team matters for more than a decade, ever since AHM Mustafa Kamal became the board chief in 2009, actually. He liked to be in control of all matters to do with the national team. Unwittingly or otherwise, Hassan picked up the trait a couple of years into his reign.
Over nine years as the board chief, he has established that whoever is the coach or captain, Hassan and the board directors will call all the shots. Many observe that unless Nazmul Hassan relinquishes his responsibility as Board chief, Bangladesh cricket will not improve. We believe there is truth in it.
