Chief selector laments lack of options as Tigers’ ODI woes deepen

Bangladesh Cricket Board's chief selector Gazi Ashraf Lipu virtually threw in the towel, citing a lack of available options when asked what could be done to address the Tigers' deepening crisis in ODIs.

Bangladesh capped off an abysmal three-match series against Afghanistan with a 200-run defeat, suffering a 3-0 whitewash -- a margin that arguably flatters the quality of performances from Mehidy Hasan Miraz's side.

"We don't have enough available players. I have to work with what's in my basket," Lipu told The Daily Star on Wednesday, acknowledging the lack of depth in the country's cricketing system.

"There is only one domestic league for the ODI format. Foreign players don't play there anymore. How many national team players get a chance to play? If we can't increase the 'A' team's matches simultaneously, what can you expect from the team in the 2027 World Cup?"

Chasing 294, Bangladesh crashed to just 93 in 27.1 overs -- their lowest total of the series -- with opener Saif Hassan the only batter to reach double figures. Miraz's side failed to bat out 30 overs in either of the last two games, having been bowled out for 109 in pursuit of 190 in the second ODI, following an opening defeat in which they at least batted till the 49th over.

The Tigers have now lost nine of their last 10 ODIs under Miraz's captaincy and 13 of 17 overall since the start of 2024 -- a stretch that includes just one series win. Miraz's recent admission that merely batting out 50 overs is now a top priority underscores the scale of Bangladesh's decline in the format.

While the current group is considered the country's best available talent, their repeated failures have left the selectors cornered, unable to look elsewhere for alternatives. A long-acknowledged truth remains that the country's dilapidated domestic structure, where standards are low and competition is weak, is failing to produce quality cricketers. As a result, reliance on familiar faces who have underperformed for years continues unchecked.

This cycle of stagnation, fuelled by systemic decay and a lack of urgency among players to lift themselves out of mediocrity, has driven Bangladesh to rock bottom. The ODI rankings tell the same story as the Tigers currently sit 10th.

Lipu didn't hold back when addressing the issue of mindset either.

"I don't see any solution unless you change your characteristics. If someone could have played like Ibrahim [Zadran], one man, it would have been a different atmosphere. If that thing is not shown, maybe we are blaming number five and six or six and seven, but sometimes number one, two, three just get away with the whole thing. But everybody is considered on the same platform," he said.