Cricket is a popular sport in Bangladesh and people in the country have a lot of respect for it. Despite this, the Bangladesh cricket team has not been successful in any ICC tournament. Cricket has been played in Bangladesh for a long time, even before the country itself existed. The British East India Company brought the game of cricket to the Indian subcontinent.
The first recorded cricket match in Bengal was in 1792. People in West Bengal quickly embraced the game, but those in East Bengal, which is now famous as Bangladesh, were slower to catch on. This was because of the lack of proper facilities and infrastructure in the country, mainly because of its geographical conditions and rural nature.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board is the main organization that looks after all the cricket-related things in Bangladesh. It was started in 1972 and got recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1977 as a regional member. Then, on 26th June 2000, it became a full member of the ICC. The Bangladesh Cricket Board is also affiliated with the Asian Cricket Council since 1983.
Over the years cricket in Bangladesh developed a lot and now we can see some popular leagues in Bangladesh like BPL, Dhaka Premier League division, and National Cricket League. But still, Bangladesh is yet to win their maiden ICC title. In this article, we will discuss how Bangladesh performed in various ICC tournaments.
Bangladesh Cricket: ICC Cricket World Cup
The BCB team has participated in 6 World Cups since 1999. They have played 40 matches and won 14 of them. They never reached the semi-finals during their World Cup journey. Their performance in the 2015 World Cup was considered their best as they reached the quarterfinals.
Bangladesh Cricket: ICC Championship Trophy
Bangladesh Cricket team has featured in 7 ICC Championship tournaments so far. In this tournament, they have played 12 games and won just 2 out of them. Unfortunately, Bangladesh is yet to find any success in the tournament.
Bangladesh Cricket: ICC T20 World Cup
The Bangladesh cricket team has played in every T20 World Cup since its inauguration in 2007. They have played 25 matches in the T20 World Cup so far and won only 5 of them. They are yet to win their maiden T20 World Cup, despite reaching the second half of the tournament in 2007, 2014, and 2016.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that the BCB team has the potential to raise the bar. In the Asia Cup 2016, Bangladesh came very close to winning their first Asia Cup title but could not win. In 2020 Bangladesh won its first under-19 ICC World Cup by beating India in the final. The work of development of cricket and grooming of young talents is going on in the country. Bangladesh also has its own league like IPL. Though it’s not that much big but future of cricket in Bangladesh is bright.
BCB team lacks experience as most of the time the team plays with young faces. When you face top-ranked teams like India, England, and Australia, it is obvious that you may lose. These teams have a balance of young and experienced players.
When you face big teams in a tournament, balance in the team is important. We haven’t heard of any player from Bangladesh who can be a good finisher. Many times, Bangladesh got the start but could not convert it. Because there was no one to finalize it. Bangladesh’s team management is also not good as the board is responsible for building a solid team when it comes to participating in big tournaments.
When it comes to support, Bangladesh gets good support from fans within the country but the situation outside is not good. The controversy that took place during the Under-19 World Cup, when Bangladesh won, was against cricket rules. Most of the time we see players mock each other during the game and the crowd also makes fun of the players. People and players should avoid such things during a cricket match because players represent their country, and it may hurt the sentiments of the people of the country.
