Losing a series against the UAE? Things couldn’t get any worse

Should the Bangladesh cricket team just go back and start learning the basics once again from scratch? It's very normal to have questions like this in your mind when, after being in the international cricket scene for more than a quarter of a century, you fail to win a T20 series against an associate member side that is still trying to make their mark on the world of cricket.

It was without any doubt that Bangladesh were the clear favorites when they went to Sharjah for a 2-match (later increased to 3-match) T20 series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE). But to everyone's surprise, UAE not only won the series 2-1, but they did it comprehensively by dominating the Tigers in most of the matches.

Bangladesh did start off well by winning the first match. But as the series progressed, they kept going backward, while their counterparts, fueled by the fact that this was their chance to pull off something historical, never seemed to lose momentum and always stayed positive that they could beat Bangladesh with ease. This was a new low for Bangladesh's cricket, and one may wonder, what went wrong? When will the Bangladesh national team stop disappointing time after time and start producing consecutive results? And after the dismantling performance against UAE, where does Bangladesh's future lie in terms of T20 cricket?

The series kicked off on May 17th, 2025. Batting first, Bangladesh scored 191-7 courtesy of a 53-ball century by Parvez Hossain Emon. The hosts put up a good fight but fell 27 runs short. The win set the tone for what was supposed to be an easy series win for the visitors. But as it turned out, it was the fighting spirit shown by the hosts that propelled them to carry the momentum forward and strike back. It was the next two games that turned the tables for UAE. In the second match, Bangladesh put up a competitive total of 205/5 but still failed to defend the tally. And in the series decider, Bangladesh again fell short as UAE swiftly moved past the 162/9 put up by them with 7 wickets and 5 balls in hand.

The playing conditions weren't in complete favor of Bangladesh either, as they had to bowl in the second innings in both of these games. The evening dew was making it harder for the bowlers to grip the ball, and even a death-over specialist like Mustafizur Rahman was struggling to control the ball. As explained by Captain Litton Das after the match, "Our bowlers couldn't get a proper grip, and it hit our spinners hardest," making it an ideal pitch for batters to strike the ball hard and get results in their favor.

Environment wasn't the only issue that made Bangladesh suffer; a few wrong tactical decisions and misjudgments made them pay a hefty price. Noticeably, Bangladesh's decision to lead the attack with pace bowling on a pitch heavy with dew was a bit confusing. Pacers Mustafizur and Hasan Mahmud were struggling to keep the ball in the right length and conceding excessive runs in the power play. UAE's offensive attack, led by their captain Muhammad Waseem, maximized every mistake made by the tigers. Their outstanding performers included Alishan Sharafu, Haider Ali, Asif Khan, and Rahul Chopra, among others. "I'm very happy we have made history. This series means a lot to us. It's very helpful for us in the future. And I'm very happy with the performance of the boys," mentioned UAE's skipper in a post-match press conference after their series win. Sharafu added, "Once that third game was announced, everyone was optimistic in the dressing room that we could go 2-1 up in the series."

Bangladesh showed a lackluster performance in all three departments, including a fielding display to forget. In the series decider, Sharafu was dropped early in the match and then went on to score an unbeaten 68 runs, scattering any hopes of Bangladesh to get a quick breakthrough. Skipper Waseem went on to score 82 off 42 balls courtesy of similar fielding mistakes in the second T20. This is not the first time Bangladesh has shown a disastrous display in the smaller format of the game, as they lost 2-1 against the United States, another associated member of the ICC, exactly a year ago. So, nothing seems to have changed from that point onwards, and they are back to square one once again,  the fans are scratching their heads and trying to connect the dots behind Bangladesh's performance in recent times.

While Bangladesh was struggling big time to get a hold of themselves, the UAE players played all three matches fiercely, facing every challenge and obstacle thrown at them by our players and coming out on top on almost every occasion. Take nothing away from them; they deserve all the credit for the performance they have shown on the pitch. Their ability to read the game quickly, take calculative decisions, and exploit Bangladesh's weaknesses made all the difference.

And as the 2026 T20 World Cup looms just around the horizon, this defeat feels like a step back for the national team, impacting heavily on the mindset and momentum of the players