Bangladesh's debacle dependency
When 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer was asked what set him apart from his peers, he philosophically mused: "Maybe they hate losing and I love winning."
However, when it comes to the Bangladesh cricket team, it seems that the driving force is a fear of failure. A cycle that involves a big loss followed by intense scrutiny and finally a resurgence; before long however, that trend repeats itself.
There have been quite a few instances where the Bangladesh team have bounced back with their backs to the wall. Those pressure situations always seem to bring the best out of the Tigers.
That can be exemplified by the win in Bangladesh's historic 100th Test match against Sri Lanka last year which came on the back of a comprehensive 259-run defeat or the comeback to win both the ODI and T20I series following a Test debacle in the West Indies earlier this year that saw the Tigers bundled out for their lowest-ever total of 43 runs.
There are many more instances that saw the Tigers bounce back after disastrous performances and those wins have often overshadowed their inadequacies. But, alarmingly, the pattern has remained.
Once again the Tigers find themselves in a familiar situation as they take on Zimbabwe in the second and perhaps series-saving Test in Mirpur today on the back of a humiliating 151-run defeat in the first match.
Stand-in skipper Mahmudullah Riyad said after the first Test in Sylhet that Bangladesh had bounced back and that they would be up for a fight in the second Test.
However, the question remains why they cannot stay focused before these debacles occur. Why does the mentality so drastically change only in the face of disaster?
That question was put to Mahmudullah ahead of the second Test and the experience cricketer opined that it was the players' realisation that they have to give something back to the nation.
"I think it's a personal belief in everyone and the players may realise that it's high time we have to do something. It is not that we don't have the hunger; we always have that whenever we wear our jersey," Mahmudullah explained to reporters during the pre-match press conference yesterday.
"Maybe that feeling works more [after big losses] and I can say that our players play their heart out. I don't know about the other teams and I am sure they also do the same playing for their own nation. Probably we will give 120 per cent this game."
Bangladesh have a lot to lose and very little to gain even if they manage to level the series against the lowest-ranked Test side, but it's that unhealthy process which the Tigers must change if they really want to become a consistent and better side.
Yesterday marked Bangladesh stepping into its 18th year of Test cricket, but it seems that the fear of losing still outweighs the love for winning and if things continue to go that way, much like Pakistan, Bangladesh will also be termed a capricious side in world cricket.