Bangladesh forget how to win, back to the dark days of odi cricket
Has Bangladesh gone back twenty years in ODI cricket? Has it hit rock bottom once again in the 50-over format? The Tigers, who seem to have forgotten how to win, now appear to have forgotten how to even play out the full 50 overs. The harsh reality is reflected in their recent collapses — all out in 28.3 overs and 27.1 overs in their last two matches. Has Bangladesh truly fallen into that dark era again?
The situation is worrying. If Bangladesh fail to stay within the top eight, they risk having to play the qualifiers for the next ODI World Cup. Unless this dismal phase is overcome soon, even qualifying could become uncertain.
Fans are not just disappointed; they are genuinely alarmed. This isn’t mere emotional reaction — it’s the plain truth. Bangladesh have played poorly before, but this current stretch stands apart for its sheer ineptitude. The team has been bowled out inside 30 overs in consecutive matches — something unseen in the past five or six years.
A look at the numbers tells the story. Mehedi Hasan Miraj’s team lost to Afghanistan by a crushing 200 runs in the last ODI in Abu Dhabi, dismissed for just 93. That total was Bangladesh’s lowest in seven years. The last time the Tigers were bowled out under 100 was on January 25, 2018, when Sri Lanka skittled them for 82 in Mirpur — also within 24 overs.
Fast forward to October 14, 2025 — history repeated itself in the most painful fashion. Bangladesh’s innings crumbled to 93 all out in 27.1 overs, undone by Rashid Khan’s guile and Shami’s pace. Rashid alone has taken 11 wickets across the three-match series (3/38, 5/17, and 3/12), leaving the Bangladeshi batters looking utterly clueless against his leg-breaks, googlies, and flippers.
The humiliation didn’t end there. In the previous game, Bangladesh were all out for just 109 runs in 28.3 overs. Two consecutive matches without lasting 30 overs — such a streak hasn’t been seen in years.
This latest whitewash against Afghanistan capped a long decline. Since defeating Sri Lanka 2–1 at home in March 2024, Bangladesh haven’t won an ODI series. They lost 2–1 to Afghanistan in the UAE in November 2024, were whitewashed 3–0 by the West Indies in December, fell 2–1 to Sri Lanka in July 2025, and now suffered another 3–0 drubbing by Afghanistan — their fourth consecutive series defeat.
History reminds us that Bangladesh once shocked the world by defeating Pakistan in their maiden World Cup in 1999. But the euphoria faded quickly — four years later, the 2003 World Cup campaign in South Africa ended in disaster, with losses to Canada and Kenya. It took years to recover from that humiliation, but under Habibul Bashar’s leadership in 2007, Bangladesh rose again — famously beating India and South Africa in the World Cup.
That revival continued through the 2010s. By 2015, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza’s spirited side reached the World Cup quarter-finals and won global praise. In 2017, they made the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy — a first in Bangladesh’s cricket history. The Tigers were no longer pushovers; they were respected as a competitive side.
But since 2020, that steady progress has been in free fall. The once-fearless batting line-up has turned brittle, and the confidence that once defined the Tigers has vanished. In the last twelve ODIs, Bangladesh have won only one — against Sri Lanka in Colombo on July 5, 2025 — and lost the other eleven.
The statistics speak for themselves. Bangladesh’s ODI cricket has reached its lowest ebb in nearly two decades. The question is — when will this nightmare end, and who will lead the Tigers back to the light?