The South Asian nation is one of nine countries to have played all T20 World Cups since the tournament began in 2007 but is alone in never having made it to the knockout stage.

Najmul Hossain Shanto, the current Bangladesh captain in all three formats, is feeling that pressure right now. His struggles with the bat in T20Is are as clear as daylight. In his last 10 outings in the format, Shanto has scored just 189 runs at a strike rate of a little over 102.

When your opponents rest key performers from the series in a dead rubber game, how fruitful are even positive results you get from the game? That is exactly what Bangladesh were left with after winning the third and final T20I against USA on Saturday.

Najmul Hossain Shanto, the Bangladesh captain was pleased with the way his team had responded to the two losses in the week.

Journos who cover Bangladesh men’s cricket team matches have a pretty good idea as to what the Tigers may say following any particular game.

Decision to exclude Tanzid Tamim also lacked logic of the convincing kind.

Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto had blamed the wickets back home during the Zimbabwe series for their disastrous five-wicket loss in the first of the three T20Is against USA on Tuesday. BCB director and chairman of BCB’s HP unit Naimur Rahman Durjoy however rejected the idea that wickets were to blame.

“We didn't bat well. We started well in the beginning but in the middle we lost couple of wickets, so I think if we can score more 20 runs then it would be a decent total,” Shanto said in post-match presentations.

“In T20 Cricket, yes, batting order will be changing. That's just normal cricket," said the Bangladesh head coach.

Bangladesh cricket team left for the USA in the early hours of Thursday for the T20 World Cup, which begins in USA and the West Indies on June 2.

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto hoped that the younger players perform well to honour two veterans – Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah Riyad, in the upcoming T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies.

Despite his injury status, pacer Taskin Ahmed found himself part of the 15-member World Cup squad but also with the vice-captaincy role.

Sure, Saifuddin has dished out glimpses of his talents with bat and ball in domestic competitions but can those sparks of promise in lower-quality contests be used to solidify faith in the 27-year-old heading into the T20 World Cup in June?

The nine and five-run victories in the third and fourth match respectively followed by the comprehensive defeat in the final game are raising concerns over the team’s preparedness

“You can’t compare IPL with international cricket at all,” Shanto told the media in Mirpur after Bangladesh lost the fifth and final T20I against Zimbabwe today

Liton Das's batting yesterday against Zimbabwe encapsulated Bangladesh's worries going into the T20 World Cup in June, with the top-order failing to find rhythm in the game's shortest format.

Shanto’s strike rate is the second lowest among all captains of the 20-team T20 World Cup, barring the Uganda skipper Brian Masaba (108), who is a bowling all-rounder.

Even though the T20I home series against Zimbabwe, starting tomorrow in Chattogram, is being considered as part of the preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup next month, Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto said that they would not be experimenting much during this five-match series.

Abahani head coach Khaled Mahmud Sujon lamented the departure of 10 first-team players from his side ahead of a Dhaka Premier League Super League contest against Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club at BSKP Ground-4 on Tuesday. 

Meanwhile, Sujon asserted that the new selection panel has created a balanced team with the preparatory squad.