BCB director condemns Bangladesh captain’s excuses for T20I loss to USA

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL

Former national captain Naimur Rahman criticized Bangladeshi players on Wednesday for blaming defeats on wicket conditions, revealing that home wickets are prepared based on team management's instructions.

Following a surprising five-wicket defeat to the USA in the T20I series opener on Tuesday, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto stated that their batters struggled because they were not accustomed to playing on good pitches.

“We didn’t play on good wickets in Zimbabwe, so the batters are struggling. But it is a mental thing and the batters can come back,” Najmul said after the match.

Naimur, a current Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) director, dismissed these excuses, emphasizing that the national team is about performance, not justifications.

“If we made slow wickets (on home soil), it was done as per the requirements of the team management. Every team takes advantage of their home conditions and it is done after getting proposals from the team,” Naimur told reporters in Mirpur.

“The team always gives us their requirements after understanding their situation and they demand suitable wickets where they can perform. So we can’t agree on their excuses if they blame the wickets.

“National team is the place for performance. We can’t give excuses for wickets there. We have gone to perform there and whatever the situation is, we have to perform,” he added.

National selection panel convener Gazi Ashraf Hossain also expressed disappointment in the team's performance against the USA, stressing the need to address issues quickly with the ICC T20 World Cup approaching in a week.

“Any kind of defeat is a matter of grief. We are currently going through a phase of preparation for the World Cup. Obviously, it’s a bit disappointing and there is no doubt about it,” he said.

“If the team loses but still the team-wise and depart-wise performance is good, we can still find positivity from it. But we had some expectations but it didn’t click so it’s obviously a matter of great concern from my point of view.

“It’s obviously a disappointing start. But let’s hope for the best. If we can get back our form to the right place, I will be really happy. We have to solve our problems soon as we don’t have too much time before the World Cup,” he concluded.