Taskin: Bangladesh Batters Endure Worst Slump in a Decade

According to vice-captain Taskin Ahmed, Bangladesh's disappointing T20 World Cup 2024 campaign was primarily due to poor batting form. He noted that almost everything went according to plan except for the batting during Bangladesh's 47-day tour of the Americas.

In a challenging tournament for batters overall, Bangladesh's batting unit had the lowest collective average among the Super Eight teams.

Bangladesh's top three batsmen failed to provide a solid start in any of their innings, with Litton Das being the only one to score a fifty from those positions. Towhid Hridoy's 153 runs at a strike rate of 128.57 were the team's best batting performance, but Shakib (111 runs at 106.73 strike rate) and Mahmudullah (95 runs at 94.05 strike rate) couldn't offer sufficient support in the middle order.

Taskin, speaking to reporters upon the Bangladesh team's arrival at Dhaka airport on Friday morning, acknowledged the impact of senior players' poor form on the team's on-field performance, emphasizing that off-field camaraderie remained strong throughout their 47-day stint together. He expressed optimism about the team's ability to bounce back from this setback and improve their performance in future matches.

Reflecting on the batting struggles, Taskin noted that Bangladesh encountered better pitches only upon reaching the West Indies, but he highlighted the unprecedented length of their batting slump in his ten-year international career.

"When you look at the batting statistics, it was a challenging time for every team in the USA," he observed. "Bowlers had the upper hand there, whereas we found more favorable batting conditions in the West Indies."

"I've never seen such an extended period of poor form among our batters," Taskin admitted. "We've historically faced challenges in T20s, but we're making gradual improvements. We're focused on turning our negatives into positives and ask for fans' patience and support."

Taskin, who returned from injury, praised Bangladesh's strong bowling performance, particularly highlighting Tanzim Hasan and leg-spinner Rishad Hossain's impressive showing in the tournament. Rishad remained among the top wicket-takers, demonstrating the emergence of talented cricketers from Bangladesh.

"Our bowling unit has shown consistency in recent years and will continue to improve," Taskin affirmed. "The performances of Tanzim and Rishad are encouraging signs of our talent pool's depth."

Expressing disappointment over their final match against Afghanistan, where Bangladesh fell short despite a challenging chase requirement, Taskin acknowledged missed opportunities but emphasized the positives of reaching the Super Eight and achieving a milestone of three wins in a T20 World Cup.

"While there are positives to take from our campaign, we acknowledge our shortcomings and share the disappointment of our supporters," Taskin concluded. "We aim to learn from this experience and deliver better performances in the future."