The alarm bells are ringing

Bangladesh's national side is going through tough times, but the main problem is, the backup teams are doing so too. That too against weaker opponents, and that is alarming for the whole Bangladesh cricket structure. 

The National side finished eighth at the World Cup, last among the automatically qualified teams. After the World Cup, the team lost 3-0 to Sri Lanka without absolutely any competition. The team was dominated by the Lankans in every department of the game; batting, bowling, fielding - you name it. But the alarming fact is not only this disastrous performance of the national team but also the below-par performance of the A team and the BCB XI in their respective competitions. The A team drew their ODI series against Afghanistan A team by a margin of 2-2 and the BCB XI were eliminated from the semifinals of the Mini-Ranji trophy. The A team was lucky to escape a series defeat as the fourth match was washed out because the Afghans were clearly on the verge of clinching the match and also the series there. And when it comes to the very recent match of the High-Performance (HP) squad against Sri Lanka, the team suffered a mammoth 186-run defeat. 

The biggest concern is, these teams were made of players who have been in and out the national side in recent years and those who are lauded to be the future national team stars. Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Mithun, Anamul Haque, Abu Jayed Rahi, Abu Haider Rony were some of the players included in the A team, and they have played for the national team in recent times and are in consideration for the national team often. On the other hand, Mominul Haque, Taskin Ahmed, Nurul Hasan, Nazmul Hossain, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, Shadman Islam, Saif Hassan were the players included in the BCB XI to play in the mini- Ranji. Nazmul, Yasir, Saif along with Naim Sheikh, Afif Hossain and others were in the HP squad, but still, they were battered by the Lankans. These are also players who are considered to be taking the baton of the national team from the senior players, whose days are numbered. 

The only positive in this period of crisis is the performance of the U-19 side, who have been dominant against England and India in English conditions. They lost in the final against India, but they reached the final ahead of hosts England and that surely is praiseworthy. But they are far from the national side and they should be put under extreme in order to ensure that they flourish when their time finally arrives. 

The failure of these players sheds light on the fragility of the Bangladesh national team’s pipeline, and BCB should be concerned with that. Without Shakib, Mashrafe, Liton, and Saifuddin, the Sri Lanka series was a massacre. What will happen if all of the fav five aren’t there? That is a question which needs to be answering, or else, Bangladesh Cricket will fall down to the pit of oblivion and there will be nothing to do then.