Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto took stock of his team’s shocking performance in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup after their narrow eight-run loss to Afghanistan on Tuesday, 25 June. This win allowed Afghanistan to qualify for the semifinal.
Bangladesh set a modest total of 114 to chase down in nineteen overs, but their batters imploded spectacularly to hand the win over to the gleeful Afghans, who qualified for the semifinal of an ICC tournament for the first time. They eventually lost that match to South Africa on Thursday.
“We wanted to win the match; it was the initial plan, and when we saw 115 runs on the board, we had a plan to win in 12.1 overs. The batting group made a lot of poor decisions; it is frustrating and disappointing. We wanted to win this game, and we had the chance in our grasp. We couldn’t take it,” Najmul told reporters following their loss to Afghanistan.
“The plan was to try (to win in 12.1 overs) if we get a good start in the powerplay. We thought that if we didn’t lose early wickets, we could take the chance (to go for the semifinals). When we lost three wickets, we had a different plan,” he said.
“We wanted to see how we could win the game. The middle order didn’t make good enough decisions, which is why we lost the game today,” he said. “It’s a matter of a lot of frustration and a lot of pain, too. Before coming to play this match, everyone had planned that we would win the match first. But if such a situation arises, then we will take the chance that we had. But we couldn’t take it. And the whole batting line-up made awful decisions.”
Shanto bravely took the blame for his team’s loss and even apologized to the fans and supporters who had backed them throughout the tournament. As the captain, he felt that his team did not put their best foot forward and let the hopes of millions of people down.
“Overall, first of all, I would like to say that as a team, we let down all Bangladesh fans who follow and support us. So, I apologize on behalf of the team. As a batting group, we couldn’t give the best to the people of the country. We feel sorry for that,” he said.
“As a batting unit, we let down the fans and the people of our country. We gave them a hard time. But there was no lacking in our efforts. Everyone tried their best. Everyone was honest in their place. But at the end of the day, we couldn’t make it. So, on behalf of the team, I apologize,” he added.
