Who is to blame?

Shocker, inexplicable were the cries from millions of betrayed hearts moments after Bangladesh captain Mr. Ashraful played that expansive drive straight to his Australian counterpart Michael Clarke at point in the third and final one-day international at Darwin yesterday.
The shot was indeed a prelude to the same old story -- another match, another defeat -- after the effort of the less illustrious bowlers set a platform from where the visitors could realistically dream of conquering the mighty Australians at their own den for the first time.
Keeping Australia below two-hundred (198-5) for the full length of 50 overs is an achievement in its own for any team in the world. And to chase down that total on a wicket where the faster bowlers have little to extract from, it did not require a Sachin Tendulkar or a Brian Lara. What was the need of the hour was the resolve to play out your share of 50 overs.
And it was certainly the pep talk during the break. But then there are a few who seem mentally retarded to do what they are supposed to do. And no doubt Ashraful was the chief devil of them all.
He strode to the ground after left-handed opener Zunaed Siddiqui had fended off a sharp bouncer from Stuart Clark to first slip. He was off the mark with a couple -- an uppish shot between cover and point. Although to choose the aerial route was a risky venture at that time, Ashraful continued to be audacious despite receiving a warning that it would lead him and his team nowhere.
He was dropped at short cover off the second last ball he faced. But he was not ready to learn and his adventurism ended with a romantic flash outside the off-stump. If his dismissal was painful, his reaction after that stupid shot was more disturbing. He looked around and then stared at his non-striking partner in a way as if he played a very good shot but only to be undone by a piece of misfortune.
This attitude or the kind of shot Ashraful played is nothing new in Bangladesh ranks. Rather it is increasingly becoming more dominant with every defeat. Otherwise who else would have thought Alok Kapali playing that rash pull shot, something that he never played in his entire career.
May be this infamous shot will cost Ashraful his captaincy sooner than later. But this is certainly not going to solve the problem in a team where something is wrong somewhere else.
It is about time to dig deep to find out why our batters cannot do the simple things they are being paid to do. Why are they constantly trying to do what they not capable of? Are the students bad learners or is the teacher a misfit for them?