Mehidy Hasan Miraz acknowledged that Bangladesh’s current ODI predicament is so bad that they are prioritising batting out 50 overs. They were bowled out for 93 runs in 27.1 overs, losing to Afghanistan by 200 runs. It comes after they were dismissed in the last match of the UAE tour with 109 all out in 28.3 overs.
A similar pattern was followed in both innings. With only Saif Hassan hitting some big ones, Bangladesh’s top order was unable to get off to a strong start. Rashid Khan then swept through the middle order. With his first-ever five-wicket haul on Tuesday, 21-year-old seamer Bilal Sami also contributed to the wicket-taking.
Bangladesh’s captain Mehidy has limited time to make amends as their next ODI series against the West Indies begins this weekend. He stated during the press conference after the game, “We need to aim to play 50 overs, since we didn’t do so in the previous two games. We must acknowledge, in my opinion, that as a batting team, we have performed poorly in cricket.
“A team suffers when its batters fail to accept accountability. All batters must accept responsibility. If not, we will continue to struggle. No matter what, we cannot win a game if there are no runs on the board.
Mehidy stated he will accept blame for the team’s series defeat to Afghanistan, but he thinks they need to regroup psychologically before the next game. “The team is undoubtedly depressed following this series’ defeat. In the two days we have at home, we hope to spend time with our family so that we can play with a new perspective.
“As captain, I want the batters to have a strong mentality. I’m not anticipating a quick fix. The team’s mental health is being improved by the coaching staff. It is my duty as a captain to do the same.
Despite the 3-0 loss, Mehidy stated that he still believes the current squad will perform well and intimated that he doesn’t want many changes made to the lineup for the West Indies series.
“We are not learning from each defeat,” he declared. “We are not making as much progress as is necessary. Although we undoubtedly fall short in some areas, we must continue to develop these guys. The number of players outside [the team] is quite small. These outcomes do not reflect how poor a team we are; we simply need to work on improving and correcting our errors.
Their 3-0 victory over the same opposition in the T20I series was nullified by their 3-0 loss in the ODI series against Afghanistan. This loss greatly jeopardises Bangladesh’s chances of earning automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup.
On the eve of the third ODI, the BCB stated that they still have enough games to get back into the top nine in the ODI rankings and guarantee their spot in that ICC tournament, but Bangladesh’s terrible batting performance isn’t encouraging at all.
Before the two disastrous batting performances, they made 221 in the first game when they batted first. Prior to the third ODI, coach Phil Simmons stated that he wanted the hitters to be aggressive against Afghanistan’s spinners. However, Bangladesh gave up in front of Rashid in each of the six white-ball matches played during this tour.
With just two days left to get ready for another three-match ODI series against the West Indies, Bangladesh will return home on Wednesday. The only thing that could save them would be home conditions, but the audience might not like them and the fields in Dhaka might still be a lot like those in Abu Dhabi. For the batters of Bangladesh, there is very little relief.
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