The back-to-back ODI series defeats to West Indies and Afghanistan have come as a big reality check for Bangladesh, who seemed to have lost their way in the 50-over format ahead of the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy, scheduled to be held in February-March next year.

There are still dark clouds looming over the tournament, with hosts Pakistan and cricketing powerhouse India at loggerheads, but for Bangladesh, one of the eight participating nations of the meet, the bigger concern right now is whether they are going into the competition with sufficient preparation.

Bangladesh ended a dreadful year in ODIs with another defeat against West Indies on Thursday and even though the Champions Trophy is still two months away, the Tigers have no other 50-over matches lined up before the tournament, adding to the concerns about their outlook in the mega event.

Bangladesh were mostly occupied with T20Is and Tests this year, playing only nine ODIs and out of them winning just three to finish with their worst win percentage (33.33) in a year in the format since 2017 (28.57).

The Tigers, who started the year with a 2-1 ODI series win over Sri Lanka at home in March, returned to the format after nearly eight months against Afghanistan in the UAE where they suffered a 2-1 series defeat before getting clean swept by hosts West Indies in the recently-concluded three-match series.

The cricketers will now be busy in the shortest format before leaving for the Champions Trophy, taking part in the ongoing National Cricket League T20 which will run till December 24, a three-match T20I series against West Indies (December 16-20) and then the Bangladesh Premier League T20 (December 30 - February 7).

Minhajul Abedin, former chief selector and current chief coordinator of BCB programmes, feels the necessity of a combined effort to come out of the rut in ODIs.

"It's true that our performance isn't good at all. I think the players should take responsibility. The management and selectors should identify where the players are lacking," Minhajul told The Daily Star yesterday.

"The team is going through a bad patch. The management and the selection panel have to come together to figure out how to fix the problems," he said, adding that he is optimistic that the team can turn things around before the Champions Trophy.

"I think there are definitely ways to fix this situation. But they need to plan accordingly to solve the problems.

"Yesterday [Thursday] they batted well but didn't bowl well. I think the management and selectors need to sit with the players and do whatever is required. There are still two months left and hopefully, they will find the solutions by this time," he concluded.

Bangladesh are not the only team who had a bad time in ODIs this year, with India and New Zealand ending the year winless after playing three ODIs each and England winning three out of nine ODIs, just like the Tigers.

But unlike these teams, Bangladesh's troubles in the format are more deeply rooted and if they don't rectify their issues soon, another disastrous ICC event could be in store for them next year.