Bangladesh tour of UAE - Series Digest

May 22

'Not expected at all' - BCB chairman Nazmul on series loss

BCB cricket operation chairman Nazmul Abedin said on Thursday that losing the three-match T20I series against UAE is one of the lowest points in their cricketing history while adding that it was also a reality check for them.

UAE created history by earning their maiden T20I series win over Bangladesh. It came right after the team was demoted to number 10 in the ICC ODI rankings - their lowest position in nearly two decades. Nazmul did not shy away from expressing his disappointment.

"Not expected at all (losing series to UAE) and it was also about a reality check. We are seeing our situation on the basis of where world cricket is going," Nazmul told Cricbuzz while sharing his thoughts. "It is important to understand this (where we stand) and usually we don't want to play against opponents of similar or lower strength, but it is important to play against them and to break that shackle of fear.

"That's the only positive thing from this series. Losing this series is definitely one of the lowest for Bangladesh cricket. But the only good thing is, we could realize where we stand, what our ability is. We were probably better than them on paper but we saw how much we were pegged back when we faced challenges. We probably can't take the challenge when we face similar or a bit weaker opponents. It's relatively easier to play against stronger opponents," he added.

Nazmul, who went to Dubai during the just concluded series, added that he doesn't feel that the tourists were having any kind of overconfidence. "There is no question of over confidence. Even if we look at the first match (that Bangladesh won) the way Waseem was playing, it was in their hands for the most part of the game," said Nazmul.

"You can understand that they don't panic, they go out with confidence and through a process and they also have the belief. There's a reason behind this, they play a lot of matches in this format. Their cricket is more disciplined and cleaner than us. It is not that easy to chase in second innings in this ground, they proved how strong their nerves are," he said.

Nazmul added that he feels they need to take a deeper look at the system to come out from the crisis prevailing in Bangladesh cricket. "It doesn't feel good. We are exactly where we started. We haven't improved, that goes without saying. Maybe the cricketers' quality has improved or something, but inside the cricketing process and all, it probably has downgraded now.

"I liked how we played 30 years ago because the players who played back then, probably had lesser ability, but they didn't lack this inside knowledge of cricket. Maybe we are strong from the outside now, but it begs a question, how strong are we from the inside. Our school of cricket where the cricketers live in, is very poor in quality. If the environment is weak, then the people within it become weak as well. Even the strong one becomes weak as well and that's what's happening with us.

"We are so good in age-level cricket, but why such thing happens when it comes to senior level? The process of building characteristics is completely missing. It's about character. In this level of cricket, if you can handle a situation during a critical moment, you win. We lose track in those moments," he concluded.