Bangladesh cricket team and management

They never targeted to chase 302 against Sri Lanka neither had they any plan of restricting the West Indies to 161.

This is where we cannot but find a major lack in strategy formulation or even any plan for that matter. Mohammed Ashraful who has been successful only in the number 4, 5 and 6 batting position is being sent to open even after repeatedly failing to perform in that position. Where his career average is in the 20's his batting average in the opening slot is around 15. I do not understand the necessity for sending him up there if he does not perform there. If the team management thinks that he is not good enough for the number 4, 5 or 6 position he could be dropped. Sending Ashraful to the opening position looks nothing but some form of harassment to a player who could perform better if allowed to bat at his preferred position.

I do not think Bangladesh has reached that stage where they can play without Javed Omar in the team. He at least has one thing called consistency in his performance and has this selfish need to stay in the wicket, which other batsmen in the team lack so much in.

My second point concerns Sakib Hasan and Reza the new recruits of the team. Why does the management suddenly play two new youngsters in the team? These kinds of sudden decisions not only hamper the team's balance but they also hamper the future careers of these young players. They could have played one of the two at a time instead of handing the responsibility of the middle order to them in a single match.

A recommendation I would like to make is to drop Habibul Bashar as soon as the world cup in 2007 ends because he has contributed nothing to the ODI team in the 80 or 100 matches he has played (keep him for test cricket as long as he performs). If he cannot better his average of 21 in his age he can never do any better.

Another thing, which shows the short-term mindedness of the team management, is in its succession planning on captaincy. What in the world made them decide to make Shahreer Nafees vice captain who is barely 21 or 22 and who has not even been in the team for more than a year? There is no doubt that this kid would have felt the world's pressure on him if Habibul had not played for the injury.

The board needs to take appropriate and effective measures on improving the first class cricket structure so that the management has more options of choosing players of experience in first class cricket rather than having to select players from the under-19 team who have not grown mentally enough to understand the need for temperament, persistence and pressure management. If players reach the age of 24 or 25 and then get to play in the national team having around 7-8 years of first class cricket experience they will be more capable to relate to the significance of playing in the national team. They will not take their position in the team for granted and will have at least a basic idea of what temperament and adjusting to the needs of the game actually mean.

Bangladesh cricket team finally signed off from ICC champions' trophy with a brilliant tune. Its only fitting that another thumping victory coincided with the day one of the rare bird of the soil earned the greatest laurel for the nation. Bangladesh did not perform all that bad in other matches. Against far superior Sri Lanka they put up admirable show in stretching them to some extent. Against West Indies they were well on course to a good total. Youth exuberance overrode professional aptitude and led to collapse. We must consolidate our gains and learn from our pains. Some youngsters graduated in the matches. Saquib seems to be a man of immense potential. Left arm spinners emulating the veteran Rafiq is proving to be our mainstay. Role models make lot of difference. We must explore our potential and regroup. Ashraful must not be risked again to open. He can bat at number five. Nafees should have a genuine opening partner. Mehrab Junior can be tried. Aftab should know to adjust and adapt to circumstances. He will win many matches if he can restrain himself from committing suicide when in full flow. Mashrafee needs a striking partner. Shahadat Rajeeb must be tried. We need a genuine quickie to unsettle opponents with pace and bounce. Bangladesh should try to find an attacking leg spinner and an off spinner. Above all we need a thoughtful captain to lead the side.

Saleque Sufi, On e-mail