Bangladesh news

Bangladesh disappointed at Test ranking

 

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim was disappointed to see his team slip to 10th in the Test rankings after Zimbabwe entered at No. 9, having played enough Tests to qualify to the table.

Zimbabwe's victory against Pakistan also meant that they were lifted to 34 points, a significant lead over Bangladesh who have ten. From the time they reinstated themselves as a Test team, Zimbabwe have won three out of 10 Tests. Bangladesh have played 11 during the same period, winning just one.

"It is normal for a team to go up the ranking table when they do well," Mushfiqur said. "For us however, it is very disappointing that they came back two years ago and crossed us. We have a great opportunity to beat New Zealand in the upcoming Test series. Even if it doesn't better our position in the rankings, we will know that we have committed fully."

There was a lot of interest among the Bangladesh players during the fifth day of the second Zimbabwe-Pakistan Test. Having played so much cricket against each other, there is a sense of camaraderie between the two sets of players apart from the strong rivalry.

Allrounder Shakib Al Hasan said Bangladesh have to follow Zimbabwe's example in October when New Zealand arrive for a two-Test series. "Zimbabwe has played well and it is reflected in their rankings," he said. "We have to do the same and that has to be against New Zealand."

Fast bowler +Mashrafe Mortaza added that domestic competitions should be taken seriously as well. "We need to play more first-class cricket, and give more priority to the National Cricket League," he said. "Batsmen will have to improve on scoring a century and bowlers have to try to bowl much better. Because we play so few Tests, we have to make best use of the opportunity."

Though most of the players have been doing well individually in the Dhaka Premier League, Mushfiqur hopes to play a four-day match after they are released by the clubs.

"There's nothing better than match practice, and some of us play together in the clubs," he said. "I am hoping for a longer-version match just after we leave the league, ahead of the Test series. If that doesn't happen, we would like to train on the Chittagong wicket.

"We had passed on a message to the players that performance in the Premier League will be vital for our preparation against New Zealand. It will give us the self-confidence."

Sorry, but the rankings reflect performance & as long as the BCA doesn't support the first class system, prepare for this type of disappointments in the future. In a country with such a rich talent pool & passion for our game, the grass roots level is not being catered for & many potentially brilliant players are not being developed. I was staggered, when I went there, how many gifted young players there were, where have they gone as they grew older? Bangladesh should be rightly disappointed with their rankings. It has been more than 12 years since the granting of test status to them and they haven't done anything substantial other than win a few ODI games and convincingly defeat Zimbabwe in bilateral games. Most of their cricketers barring a few names don't look good enough for international cricket. It is indeed time for a push in the right direction. They need to start playing a lot away from home to begin with. On the bigger note, their first class structure needs a complete make over. A lot of hard work ahead for them but in Mushfiqur Rahim, they have a confident young captain who can at least instil some positive values in the younger players of the team. 

Its silly to still brag on about Bangladesh's first 6 years in Test Cricket when none of the current squad have even played back then. Since that BPL in 2012 we have seen a change of attitude from a lot of these Bangladesh players from negative to positive and that has brought in great competition to oppositions and wins over India, Sri Lanka and the West Indies 6 times in the small amount of ODI games they have played since 2012. Almost and should've beaten Pakistan in those 2 matches in Asia Cup. Though test matches will be a long rocky road in the the 6 test matches Bangladesh have played since 2012, they have not lost either of them by an innings, won 1 and drawn 1 away with 2 record high scores being broken and made player reaching its first double centurion. This New Zealand series coming will once and for tell us whether Bangladesh's success in the last few years is all a big fluke or they have finally come out of that minnow tag. This is the youngest team of all teams btw.