Why ODIs are Tigers’ favoured format?

"The players know what they have to do. Of course there is a leader but everyone here is a leader and is able to contribute to the decision-making process because they have the experience, having gone through such scenarios and events.

— Nazmul Abedeen Fahim

It has long been understood that Bangladesh find it easier to meet the challenges of the ODI format. However, the disappointing losses in the Test and T20I series in West Indies brought with it the anxiety that the Tigers may not being able to hold their own in the ODI format. However, Tamim Iqbal's men passed that test with flying colours, clinching the ODI series 2-0 with a game left.

The question of whether it was expected that the Tigers would find their feet in the favoured format was posed to Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, a mentor to many of the stalwarts in the national side.

"We all know that we play ODIs better than other formats. But it did not look like we would be able to dominate as much as we did in the ODIs in the West Indies. The wicket helped, but the fact remains that we play well in ODIs. The players have a very clear idea of the journey in one-dayers," Fahim said.

Bangladesh portrayed that the team was able to catch the tempo of the moments in the game with much more clarity in ODIs compared to Tests.

If a bowling change did not work, a solution would come almost naturally with the beat. The attitude and body language all seemed improved in the format compared to Tests and T20Is. The Dhaka Premier League is the country's best domestic competition till date. So is it natural for players to find it easier to adjust to ODIs?

"The 50-over games we play in the DPL is our cricket, not the four-dayers or the T20 competitions. Even players aged 12 to 15 dream of playing in the DPL. Since it's a one-day competition, we know the steps of the ODI format better than we understand Tests or T20Is. In other domestic competitions, foreigners get major roles. But in the 50-over format of DPL, despite there being some flaws, there is a lot of competitiveness as everyone wants to play there," he said.

Tamim Iqbal has done immensely as skipper, winning six of the seven series he has captained, including a series win in South Africa. However, the others have contributed methodically keeping in line with the ease they find in the format.

"The players know what they have to do. Of course there is a leader but everyone here is a leader and is able to contribute to the decision-making process because they have the experience, having gone through such scenarios and events. They know the critical situations that can occur in ODIs and past successes imbue confidence. It's true that we struggle against the top two or three sides in the world, but we do well against those below the top-tier," he said.

Is the team in auto-pilot mode in ODIs?

"The captain definitely has to play his role with bowling changes and especially when the team is on the field. Making the best possible use of resources is important. Of course the players understand their roles and the batters usually can avoid disasters in difficult scenarios but that does not mean we can only win in auto-pilot mode," Fahim opined.

Fahim was disappointed with how Bangladesh fared in Tests. "We batted a bit too badly in Tests but I felt the result does not reflect our abilities. We did not play as well as we could have and I don't think they were so much better than us in Tests as the results say.

"ODI is our format but even given the problems in the domestic format, I think there was no justification for playing so badly in the Tests. In terms of improving further in ODIs, we should make sure we increase the margins of our victory as we understand the template."