Bangladesh cricket has had a difficult year in 2021. The Bangladesh national men’s cricket team’s disappointing performance in the absence of experienced players is one of the key indications of this. The performance of the men’s cricket team provides strong evidence that the country’s cricket pipeline is weak. On the other hand, the Bangladesh women’s cricket team has had a successful year. The Tigresses confirmed their participation in the 50-over World Cup for the first time by competing in the ICC Women’s World Cup qualifiers at the end of the year. This article analyzed the performance of Bangladesh’s men’s and women’s national cricket teams in the year 2021.
Performance of Bangladesh Cricket in 2021
The men’s and women’s teams of Bangladesh had significant achievements in 2021. However, there are a number of major failures. Let’s take a look at Bangladesh’s overall performance in cricket in the year 2021.
Bangladesh Men’s National Cricket Team
Bangladesh Men’s cricket team played 7 Tests, 12 One-Day Internationals, and 24 Twenty-20 Internationals in 2021. Bangladesh’s greatest success came in one-day internationals (ODIs). In the year 2021, they won three ODI series and lost one. Overall, Bangladesh won eight ODIs while losing four. Bangladesh lost three-Test series and only won one against Zimbabwe. Overall, Bangladesh only won one Test match, lost five, and drew one.
Bangladesh played the most Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) in 2021, with 24. They won 11 T20Is and have lost 13. However, winning the home series against Australia and New Zealand were two of Bangladesh’s finest achievements in 2021. Besides that, Bangladesh defeated Zimbabwe in a T20I series. However, they were hammered by New Zealand (3-0) and Pakistan (3-0), and their performance in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 was disastrous.
Bangladesh’s first international series after the covid-19 outbreak in March 2020 was a home series against the West Indies in January 2021. In that perspective, the series was crucial for Bangladesh. The Tamim Iqbal-led side had shown a lot of character throughout the series. Shakib Al Hasan has also returned to international cricket through this series after completing a one-year suspension imposed by the International Cricket Council. Here are the results of Bangladesh’s men’s cricket team’s international matches in the year 2021.
Bangladesh vs West Indies (3-match ODI Series at home)
The second-tier West Indies side arrived in Bangladesh to play a limited-overs series against the host. The Bangladesh campaign had great expectations for this encounter, and they did not disappoint the supporters. Bangladesh went on to defeat the Caribbean team 3-0 in the series. After returning to international cricket, Shakib Al Hasan made an immediate impression. He won Player of the Series after taking 6 wickets and scored 113 runs in three matches. It was Tamim Iqbal’s debut match as permanent captain of Bangladesh’s One-Day International team.
Bangladesh vs West Indies (3-match ODI Series at home)
Bangladesh faced the West Indies in a two-match Test series after sweeping the ODI series 3-0. However, the team tigers underperformed in the longer-version format. They were beaten 2-0 against a West Indian team that was pretty poor. The outcome of this series was one of Bangladesh’s most embarrassing performances in 2021.
New Zealand vs Bangladesh (3-match ODI Series, away)
Expecting a win is far from realistic, given the fact that Bangladesh has never won a match in New Zealand. Bangladesh came near to winning the second One-Day International, which may be their most significant achievement in 2021. However, Bangladesh were defeated 3-0 by New Zealand in the series.
New Zealand vs Bangladesh (3-match T20I Series, away)
As predicted, Bangladesh lost all three T20I matches they played against New Zealand. More importantly, they were unable to put up a good fight against the host New Zealand. Bangladesh’s disastrous trip to New Zealand came to an end with a series of defeats.
Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh (2-match Test Series, away)
In April, Bangladesh headed to Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series. They drew the first Test at Pallekele but lost the second match there by 209 runs. Bangladesh lost the series 1-0, demonstrating their ineptness in the Test format once again.
Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (3-match ODI Series at home)
Sri Lanka visited Bangladesh in May for a three-match One-Day International series. Bangladesh claimed the series with a game to spare but failed to complete the sweep in the final match. Mushfiqur Rahim was named Player of the Series for his outstanding batting.
Zimbabwe vs Bangladesh (1 Test, 3 ODIs, and 3 T20Is, away)
In July, Bangladesh traveled to Zimbabwe to play bilateral series across all formats. Bangladesh clinched the series by winning the one-off Test by 220 runs. Later, Bangladesh won the ODI series 3-0, followed by the T20I series 2-1. All of Bangladesh’s key players performed well during the tour.
Bangladesh vs Australia (5-match T20I Series at home)
One of Bangladesh’s most significant achievements in 2021 was defeating Australia 4-1 at home in a T20I series in August. Australia never expected to get beaten so badly by Bangladesh. However, Bangladesh dominated Australia courtesy of a slow Mirpur surface. Shakib Al Hasan was named player of the series for his remarkable all-rounder performance.
Bangladesh vs New Zealand (5-match T20I Series at home)
Bangladesh were optimistic going into the New Zealand series in September after defeating Australia in August. Bangladesh went on to win the five-match Twenty20 International series 3-2. Left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed was named player of the series.
ICC T20 World Cup 2021
Bangladesh team had high expectations ahead of the seventh edition of the ICC T20 World Cup after two successful home series. However, Bangladesh’s performance was completely disappointing. They only managed to win two games, both of which came in the qualifying rounds. Bangladesh suffered heavy losses in all five of their Super 12 Round matches, and their campaign came to an end in despair.
Bangladesh vs Pakistan (3-match T20I Series at home)
Bangladesh welcomed Pakistan for a three-match T20I series after a poor World Cup campaign. Pakistan had a fantastic T20 World Cup and came into the bilateral series with a lot of confidence. Bangladesh were defeated in all three matches against Pakistan national team. The Bangladesh team contained a few newcomers in the series.
Bangladesh vs Pakistan (2-match Test series at home)
It was far from realistic to expect a great performance following a disastrous T20I campaign. Bangladesh had a chance to draw the second Test, but they failed to see out the fifth day. Pakistan whitewashed Bangladesh in the Test series (2-0).
Among the players, Liton Das was Bangladesh’s most successful batter across all formats in 2021, while Mustafizur Rahman was the most successful bowler.
Bangladesh Women’s National Cricket Team
Bangladesh’s women’s national cricket team only participated in two international series in 2021. In November, they traveled to Zimbabwe for a three-match One-Day International series. The Bangladesh Women’s team swept the host Zimbabwe in all three matches (3-0). After that, Bangladesh competed in the ICC World Cup Qualifier 2021.
Bangladesh won two and lost one match in the group stage before the ICC suspended the remaining qualifier matches in the midst of the competition due to covid-19 complications. The International Cricket Council later announced that Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the West Indies have qualified for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2022.
Qualifying for the ICC Women’s World Cup was a major accomplishment for Bangladesh women’s team in the year 2021.
Bottom Line
Reviewing the men’s team’s performance in 2021, it is evident that Bangladesh cricket is now in a very precarious situation. This has happened because of the over-reliance on senior cricketers. Newcomers should be given enough time to adapt to the new surroundings and the fans should be ready for some tough series. Because the current facilities provided by BCB are insufficient for producing outstanding outcomes on the international stage.
This year’s men’s cricket team had a terrible outing, while the women’s team looked impressive. The women’s team qualified for the ICC 50-over World Cup for the first time. In terms of significance, this feat by women is Bangladesh cricket’s most significant achievement in 2021.
Source: United News of Bangladesh