Order restoration still far off
There was ample confusion and controversies even before Bangladesh boarded their India-bound flight for the ICC World Cup campaign and, as the Tigers prepare to face Australia today in Pune to conclude their disastrous show in the apex event, the scenario remains much the same.
It all started when the selectors revealed the World Cup roster, removing seasoned opener Tamim Iqbal due to injury concerns. But the situation had quickly devolved into chaos following skipper Shakib Al Hasan's vitriolic attack on the former captain during an interview on a private TV channel hours before flying to India.
Despite starting the World Cup with a win over Afghanistan, the Tigers slipped to suffer six successive defeats, with batting failure emerging as the major concern in the Bangladesh camp.
Apart from Mahmudullah Riyad's century against South Africa, none of the Bangladeshi batters were able to hit three digits at the World Cup, which depicts the overall scenario of the batting unit.
The continuous shuffling of the batting order raised concerns, while a lack of options in the batting unit left the team management in disarray throughout the competition.
The victory over Sri Lanka did provide some solace to the demoralised Tigers, but it was not enough to paper over the cracks.
The humiliating defeat to the Netherlands prior had added to the Tigers' misery by leaps and bounds. As the tournament went on, dissatisfaction in the Bangladesh dressing room began to emerge, reflecting in the team's performance on the field as well.
The most recent example involves pace-bowling coach Allan Donald. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) initially signed the South Africa legend in March last year for the ICC T20 World Cup before extending his contract until the ongoing ODI World Cup. Despite BCB's request, Donald was hesitant to extend his contract and, according to sources, expressed his dissatisfaction with one of the team management members.
In a team meeting yesterday in Pune, the team management requested Donald to explain his conduct since they did not appreciate him publicly condemning the team's on-field decision that led to Angelo Matthews' timed-out dismissal against Sri Lanka. Donald eventually stated during that meeting that he would not be renewing his contract.
Srinivas Chandrashekhar, the Tigers' performance analyst, has also declared that he will leave the team after the World Cup game against Australia. There have been reports that the board will not extend contracts with spin-bowling coach Rangana Herath.
Meanwhile, there has been criticism of head coach Chandika Hathurusingha as well, but it has been reported that the board intends to keep the Sri Lankan -- who took over the post earlier this year -- for another two years. Also expected to finish out his two-year deal with BCB is assistant coach Nic Pothas, who was hired in April of this year.
Furthermore, there is also widespread criticism of the Minhajul Abedin-led selection panel, and only time will tell whether the board makes additional changes following the World Cup campaign.
It appears the instability in Bangladesh cricket, both on and off the field, needs to be resolved quickly, or else the Tigers may find it near-impossible to restore to their last stable configuration.