Is hope enough to fix batting crisis?

As it stands, Bangladesh cricketers and their fans seem to share one defining trait -- an almost stubborn tendency to cling to hope.

On the eve of the second ODI against New Zealand, pacer Shoriful Islam laid it bare. His words, intended as reassurance, instead underlined a worrying reality -- that hope, rather than performance, has become this side’s fallback.

“Of course, they are working on it, and maybe most of the time they are failing. But even when you fail, you can always hold on to hope. In life, you don’t always fail -- sometimes success comes. And with that hope, everyone is trying,” Shoriful said.

But international cricket rarely rewards hope alone. Bangladesh’s 26-run defeat in Friday’s opener at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium exposed a batting unit that is not just out of form, but alarmingly short on conviction.

That has prompted a possible rethink. Soumya Sarkar, who had been on the fringes, is now likely to be drafted into the eleven as Bangladesh search for answers to their batting woes. Initially overlooked after head coach Phil Simmons backed the Saif Hassan-Tanzid Hasan Tamim opening pair, Soumya now appears set for a recall, potentially at number three. Sources suggest Najmul Hossain Shanto could be pushed down to number four as the order is reshuffled.

For now, though, the spotlight remains on those who have failed to deliver. Shanto continues to occupy a crucial role without results -- 13 innings without a fifty, six of those producing single-digit scores, and just one effort beyond 40. His dismissal in the first ODI, beaten comprehensively by Nathan Smith’s incoming delivery, only reinforced concerns about his form.

Litton Das’s decline is even more pronounced. Once among Bangladesh’s most reliable batters, he has now gone 18 innings without a fifty -- his last dating back to the 2023 World Cup. Even a shift down to number four has failed to arrest the slide, with four ducks in his last 10 innings. Brief starts have come, with 40-plus scores in his last three innings, but the inability to convert remains his main issue. However, one positive is that it took an impressive turner from Dean Foxcroft to outfox him in the first ODI, showing that the batter might just be able to turn it around with a little more luck and grit.

Afif Hossain remains caught between roles. A batter who usually bats at number four in the domestic circuit, Afif continues to be used at six without showing the intent or finishing ability required. His laboured 49-ball innings at a strike rate of 55.10 in the first ODI typified that struggle.

Opener Saif Hassan also failed to capitalise after getting in, while captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz has yet to make a meaningful impact with the bat down the order.

There is nothing inherently wrong with hope. But when it becomes the central theme -- even within the dressing room -- it begins to sound less like belief and more like an admission of inadequacy. Soumya’s likely return may offer a fresh variable, but it is hardly a guaranteed fix.