Tigers and the never-ending cycle of problem areas

Evolving and growing through every phase of life is a natural phenomenon. For most, this brings about positive changes. But for the Bangladesh cricket team, the exact opposite is the case, as in every new series and tour, the Tigers unlock new problem areas in their game.

The Litton Das-led Bangladesh suffered successive T20I series defeats -- a humiliating 2-1 loss away to Associate UAE, followed by a clean sweep in a three-match tour of Pakistan.

Interestingly, Bangladesh ended these back-to-back tours with different concerns from the ones they had at the start.

When the Tigers left for the UAE in mid-May, their most pressing issue was top-order batting -- a long-standing concern across all formats.

Not that the top-order conundrum has been completely solved -- with consistency still being an issue -- but for now, what seems more troubling is the Tigers' bowling, an area the team management considered a strong suit just a fortnight ago.

"We didn't bowl well and didn't field well in the last two games, but we batted well on this track. It's a good wicket, but we need to learn how to bowl to different batters and need to think about that," skipper Litton said on Sunday, after failing to defend 197 and losing comprehensively by seven wickets with 16 balls to spare in the third T20I against Pakistan in Lahore.

Getting starts with the bat hardly seemed to be a problem for Bangladesh -- they even saw openers Tanzid Tamim and Parvez Hossain Emon stitching together the highest partnership for any wicket against Pakistan for Bangladesh in T20Is, 110, in the final game.

But the bowlers seemed clueless about how to operate on flat wickets like those in Sharjah and Lahore. Slower deliveries from pacers were picked early or landed too short, offering ample time to opposition batters. The spinners looked ineffective and erratic without any assistance from the surface, while sloppy fielding made things worse.

Rishad Hossain, the Tigers' only leg-spinner, conceded over 10 runs per over in every game. On top of it, he looked like an ordinary bowler, getting consistently targeted by opposition batters, likely due to his tendency to either bowl too full or too short.

Pacers Tanzim Sakib and Hasan Mahmud leaked runs during crucial phases that allowed Pakistan to regain momentum even after early setbacks. Both Sakib and Hasan had economy rates north of 10 in two of the three matches. In fact, captain Litton's decision to stick with spinners for three of the final four overs in the first T20I speaks volumes about the ineffectiveness of these pacers on such tracks.

Bangladesh did face setbacks in the pace department, before and during the series -- pace sensation Nahid Rana withdrew from the tour, Mustafizur Rahman missed the entire series due to a finger injury, and Shoriful Islam missed the final game after getting injured in the previous match.

Still, for a team that found success on the back of their pacers not so long ago, a lack of depth in this department is an ominous sign for the future. But more importantly, what seems most concerning is that the Tigers' roulette of problem areas continues to stop on a new issue in every series. It also won't be a surprise if a new problem area emerges in their upcoming full tour of Sri Lanka later this month.