A year to right the wrongs
A year to right the wrongs
For Bangladesh cricketers, the traditional 'look-back' throughout the last year won't be one that they would be too fond of. If it was not for a joyous series wins against Zimbabwe at the fag end of the year, pictures of a gloomy Mushfiqur Rahim with his head down during each of the post-match press conference would have probably been the ideal 'iconic collage' of the year for the Tigers.
With Bangladesh hosting two major global cricketing events in consecutive months, one would have expected 2014 to be a golden year for Bangladesh cricket. A long winless streak, however, spoilt all the fun. And make no mistake, the Tigers faced plenty of heat; so much so that Mushfiqur 'apologised to the nation' on more than one occasion.
The Twenty20 World Cup and the Asia Cup brought Bangladesh fans from all over the world on a single platform and made them dance to the same song. The Tigers', unfortunately, were not on the same tune.
It was a year of transition too with a complete reshuffle in the team management. From the head coach to the physio, almost every position of the national team management saw a new face.
The changes might not have been ideal, especially with the 50-over World Cup months away, but they were required nonetheless.
In came Chandika Hathurusingha, an inexperienced coach at the international circuit, yet one with a laudable profile in Australia's domestic competition.
A seemingly shrewd tactician, some of the strategies Hathurusingha employed were quite rare in Bangladesh cricket. Preparing pacey wickets to run through India's strong batting line-up in the second and third matches of the three-match ODI series, was one of them. While it did end up backfiring, it displayed a new line of thought and to a certain extent depicted the Sri Lankan's aggressive mindset.
There were changes in the personnel too as far as the national team is concerned, Abdur Razzak was left out of the India series; Shakib Al Hasan was banned after an argument with the coach while Nasir Hossain was dropped for the Zimbabwe series. It just showed that the Sri Lankan is a no-nonsense tactician.
Having failed to beat a Test nation throughout the year, the Zimbabwe series, Bangladesh's last series before the World Cup, was always going to be crucial. In fact, nothing less than perfect result would have pacified the fans and detractors alike.
After eking out a hard-fought win in the first Test, the cog wheels suddenly seemed to be churning again. From Shakib's double to Taijul Islam's hattrick on debut, from Mominul Islam's ninth-consecutive 50-plus score to Tamim Iqbal's batting out a day for just 70-odd runs; suddenly everyone was having a bite of the cherry.
While the year did end well, the Tigers know there is a lot more that they need to do before they can put on the blanket. If 2014 is considered as a year of wasted opportunities, 2015 can be dubbed as the year to rectify those mistakes. Because there will be plenty on the menu for the Tigers as they host Pakistan, India, South Africa and Australia after the World Cup.
At the end of the Test series against Zimbabwe, Hathurusingha was asked if he was happy with the 3-0 win. His reply seemed slightly ambitious enough. “We play Pakistan, Australia and South Africa next year. If we can remain unbeaten after that, I'll be happy.”
As pushy as it may sound, maybe that's the sort of result that Bangladesh cricket needs. If the victories against Zimbabwe provided an ounce of hope, wins against these top-ranked nations will perhaps even erase some of the painful memories of last year; like the defeats at the hands of Hong Kong and Afghanistan.