Bangladesh Cricket Board chief selector Gazi Ashraf Lipu has admitted he sees no immediate solutions to the national team’s deepening crisis in one-day internationals, citing a lack of available alternatives.
Bangladesh ended a dismal three-match series against Afghanistan with a 200-run defeat, completing a 3-0 whitewash that arguably flattered the quality of the team’s performances under captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
“We do not have enough available players. I have to work with what is in my basket,” Lipu told a local newspaper on Wednesday, acknowledging the lack of depth in the country’s cricket structure.
“There is only one domestic league for the ODI format. Foreign players do not play there anymore. How many national team players get a chance to play? If we cannot increase the ‘A’ team’s matches at the same time, what can you expect from the team in the 2027 World Cup?”
In pursuit of 294 in the final ODI, Bangladesh folded for 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 survive 30 overs in either of the last two matches, having been dismissed for 109 while chasing 190 in the second game, after at least batting into the 49th over in the series opener.
The Tigers have now lost nine of their last 10 ODIs under Miraz’s leadership and 13 of 17 overall since the start of 2024, a run that includes only one series victory. Miraz’s recent admission that simply batting out 50 overs has become a priority highlights how far the side has fallen in the format.
Although the current group is regarded as the best available talent, their continued failures have left the selectors with nowhere else to turn. A long-recognised issue remains the country’s deteriorating domestic structure, where low standards and limited competition have failed to produce players of international quality. As a result, reliance on familiar faces who have underachieved for years continues unchecked.
This cycle of stagnation, driven by systemic decline and a lack of urgency among players to rise above mediocrity, has dragged Bangladesh to rock bottom. The ODI rankings reflect the same malaise, with the team currently 10th in the world.
Lipu was also forthright when addressing the issue of mentality.
“I do not 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 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.
