“I would say that as a team we have disappointed our fans. We have let down the people who always follow our matches. So, on behalf of my team, I apologise,” Shanto said after the match against Afghanistan.

Bangladesh team management made a few strategic mistakes in their 50-run defeat to India in a crucial Super Eight clash of the T20 World Cup in Antigua on Saturday. It leaves question marks over the Tigers’ planning around the biggest matches on the biggest stages.

"It is not possible that every day the bowlers will make the team win. I hope they make us win every day, that's what I hope for but the batsmen also have a responsibility.

At one end, there is captain Shanto, a smart leader who has been brave with his use of bowlers, excellent with his on-field decisions, has taken a number of gutsy calls, and almost all of his gambles have come off.

Clear and concise, Bangladesh’s bowling unit has been decisive in their plans so far, which has put the team on course for a berth in the Super Eight.

The Tigers currently have four points in three matches, having beaten Sri Lanka earlier and then losing to South Africa. A victory or a washout against Nepal in their final group-stage match on June 17 will seal their spot in Super Eight.

Bangladesh lost the match to South Africa by four runs denied to the team due to a faulty decision by the on-field umpire.

“It was a poor decision, that was never hitting the stumps. And he threw his finger up so quickly, like a gun slinger,” Doull told Cricbuzz

Veteran Bangladesh all-rounder Mahmudullah Riyad disclosed that he felt hurt after being ignored for the 2022 T20 World Cup, but he has moved on with his faith in the Almighty and is looking forward to contributing to the team’s cause in the ongoing edition in USA and the West Indies.

“Comparing the way associate teams like the USA, Canada, Papua New Guinea have played, I feel that Bangladesh have regressed in T20s,” Ashraful told The Daily Star.

“I always dream big. I dream of becoming champions. It’s my personal thinking, I like to dream big,” Soumya said in a video posted on social media by the BCB today.

Every metric indicates a clear dearth of ability alongside a lack of intent in the Bangladesh team when it comes to T20s.

“We are not thinking about what has happened before. We know how capable we are, we have to be brave and execute our plans.”

Bangladesh are heading into the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup with their most varied bowling attack in recent memory as their arsenal ticks almost all the boxes but questions remain on how the resources will be used in the USA and the Caribbean.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) officials Jalal Yunus and Gazi Ashraf Lipu were not keen on entertaining skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto’s accusations that substandard pitches at home had primarily contributed to the Tigers' dismal performance in Twenty20 Internationals.

The match, which was supposed to begin at 9:30 pm Bangladesh time, was the first of two ICC mandated warm-up games for the Tigers

We distance ourselves from the sport, stop watching the games, and wish that the news of the results doesn’t reach us. But to remain unaffected is not a choice we can make.

“Of course, as a bowler I want to see the title ‘highest wicket-taker’ besides my name,” the leg-spinner said in a video posted by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on social media today.

More than a year into his contract, Hathurusingha got to see both sides of the coin. In 2023, Bangladesh whitewashed defending champions England, and Afghanistan won a series against Ireland at home and claimed their maiden T20I win over New Zealand in the BlackCaps’ backyard. But less than a year since enjoying their best ever run in the shortest format, the Tigers spiralled down to their lowest point, displaying a severe lack of continuity.

Could the Tigers spiral down further? The omens would suggest a very bleak answer for fans of a cricket-crazy nation.