Tigers turn Toygers in T20 World Cups

There's a saying that goes "prepare to fail if you fail to prepare" and many would attribute it to the ignominious way in which Bangladesh were routed out of the T20 World Cup. 

There were hopes built on how Bangladesh would be able to reach the semifinals of the World Cup, based on three T20I series wins leading up to the big event.

Conditions, hot and humid and pitches favouring spin, were supposed to favour the Tigers but they failed to capitalise on those. 

Why is that? Is it a mental thing or an ability issue? Or is it the low and slow pitches in Mirpur where 120 was good enough to win games? 

To be honest, it's a mix of all three and then some noises from outside that seem to have distracted the players.

The noises outside the field distracting players in it

To start off, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan voiced his displeasure over the way Bangladesh lost against Scotland in the first Qualifier for Bangladesh.

Then there was ex-captain Mashrafe Mortaza criticising the coaching staff for the way they have planned things and especially the fielding coach Ryan Cook.

Bangladesh dropped a total of 11 catches in the tournament and many of them were sitters. 

Dropped catches have been a constant issue for Bangladesh over the past few years and the South African Cook was never a fielding coach before taking up this role for Bangladesh. 

Shakib Al Hasan's wife Ummey Ahmed Shishir has also been vocal on social media criticising Mashrafe and all that has led to Bangladesh players giving press conferences where they had outbursts. 

No one will forget the press conference where Mushfiqur Rahim told people that are criticising the team for their poor performances to "look in the mirror". 

Misfiring Mustafiz

For Bangladesh to do well in the T20 World Cup, Mustafizur Rahman was going to have to be at his best.

The form he had shown against Australia and New Zealand at home was exemplary, where he utilised the conditions at Mirpur to the fullest on wickets where his cutters had maximum effect. 

But in Oman and the UAE, he was a shell of himself, constantly missing his lines and lengths and not getting his cutters to grip.

As a result, he tried to bowl fast and that only meant he went for more runs.

Bangladesh's main weapon with the ball became a liability, to the point where he had to be dropped in the match against South Africa. 

He was brought back for the match against Australia and once again proved to be expensive.

In contrast, Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam did a much better job with the ball, even though they didn't get to play all the games, and one wonders if the management made a huge error here. 

Mushfiq's mirror reveals an ugly picture

Mushfiqur Rahim is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished batters in Bangladesh cricket history.

But most of his best work has happened in Tests and in ODIs.

In T20Is, he doesn't have the same effectiveness and a poor record. 

Yes, he did play a very effective innings against Sri Lanka, a team he has a good record against in T20Is.

But for the rest of the tournament, he was lost, playing scoops and reverse sweeps and getting out in an ugly fashion. 

For a batter who is so technically gifted, and hardworking, it's quite shocking to see such high-risk shots. 

Shots he avoids in other formats and one of the reasons why he has had success there. 

One fifty in two years of T20I cricket does not bode well for the T20I future of one of the best batters in the country. 

Wholesale changes needed in batting

Truth be told, the battling lineup and the way the batters are approaching T20 cricket needs an overhaul.

It's clear that players like Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar are not consistent or reliable enough in this format of the game. 

Players like Afif Hossain, who was expected to be the x-factor in the batting order failed miserably.

The captaincy and batting of Mahmudullah Riyad has also come under criticism, especially for the losses against Sri Lanka and West Indies. 

It's obvious that changes are required but with who? Can the U-19 World Cup-winning players come in and fill the void immediately?  

Shamim Hossain has shown some positive signs with the bat but still feels very raw and has areas in his game he needs to develop. 

However, Shoriful Islam has been consistently doing well with the ball regardless of conditions and has shown signs of being a thinking cricketer, bowling according to the situation. 

Changes will have to be made but it's unlikely we'll see them right after the World Cup in the series against Pakistan. 

A plan has to be made with a newer crop of players to bat in the way the top T20I teams bat.

It doesn't mean they have to hit from ball one or be power-hitters, but it's about batting with purpose, intent, and a plan and decreasing the number of dot balls. 

Bangladesh have had another difficult and disappointing T20 World Cup campaign despite getting wins consistently at home for the first time.

They now have to figure out how to win away from home and also do better on different surfaces ahead of the next T20 World Cup in Australia where the surfaces will favour the batters and faster bowlers more.