Even though it has been more than a fortnight since Bangladesh ended their disastrous World Cup campaign, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has taken none of the aforementioned measures or steps.
Perhaps this comes as no surprise from a board that thrives on doing things differently.
As a result, unlike England team director Rob Key, no one from the BCB brass came out and admitted the ‘fault in approach,’ no changes were made to the selection panel or leadership, as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) did, and no clear indication about who the board will be putting its faith in moving forward was made, as the England Cricket Board (ECB) did after their 2015 World Cup debacle.
Yesterday was possibly the busiest day in the country’s cricketing community since India hosted the World Cup. It was intended to be a hectic day, as the Najmul Hossain Shanto-led Tigers began their latest World Test Championship cycle with their first Test against New Zealand at Sylhet.
However, separate media appearances by BCB president Nazmul Hassan Papon and former ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal further added to the uproar.
But what did it all amount to? Unfortunately, nothing.
It was the first time BCB president Hassan met with Tamim after he was withdrawn from the World Cup roster, an episode that came on the heels of a lot of commotion.
Tamim had stated after his removal from the selection that he did not ‘want to be a part of the filthy game’ that exists in Bangladesh cricket.
Exactly two months after Tamim’s severe charges, the BCB president yesterday vowed to ‘understand’ and ‘get to the bottom of the situation’ before making a judgement ‘after the [national] elections [next year January], when the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) starts’.
Tamim simply stated his willingness to wait till Hassan unearths the issues and makes some’strict decisions’ during his news conference, during which he refused to answer questions.
While this was the case in the capital, Shanto stated in his news conference in Sylhet that he is eager to take on long-term responsibility for the team in all three formats if the board believes he is qualified.
Shanto’s expression of desire is logical from the standpoint of a professional. As things are, Bangladesh cricket is in an unstable situation, relying on interim and stopgap measures to get through one series or trip at a time.
Regular skipper Shakib Al Hasan, who stated even before the World Cup began that he would not be leading the Tigers in ODIs after the showpiece event, is not near the cricketing action and will not be anytime soon, as the all-rounder is recovering from a finger injury and preparing for the national elections after being granted nomination.
Tamim, an experienced campaigner, stated that he would return to the BPL next year, but his international career remains hazy, as it has been for some time.
Given the circumstances, BCB CEO Hassan, who has been in charge of the board for almost a decade, may have to abandon his ambitions for ‘fixing the team’ sooner rather than later.