Bangladesh in T20 cricket was on life support 10 years ago as they faltered badly in their home World Cup campaign. What shaped up as a promising period turned out to be fruitless, with defeat against Hong Kong and then four straight losses in the main round indicating the team had a long way to go to be genuine contenders in major ICC tournaments.

Fast forward to 2024, and a thrilling two-wicket win over rivals Sri Lanka has shed hope over the Tigers' T20 World Cup campaign. But, can they be considered genuine contenders? Not at this stage.

The win in Dallas was their first over a higher-ranked side in a T20 World Cup since way back in 2007. Also, recent performances, including a horror 2-1 series defeat to Associate nation USA, showed the team is seemingly limited to a ceiling of scores in the 150 region no matter the opposition.

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Those frailties remained in their tournament opener, with Najmul Hossain Shanto's team making hard work of a chase of 125 that looked to be well within their grasp against Wanindu Hasaranga's team.

It's the nature of the batting performances that is quite concerning. Even before the batting collapse against the Sri Lankans, Bangladesh had opportunities to take games by the scruff of the neck against the USA.

The Tigers failed to deliver in crunch moments as they crumbled to a 2-0 deficit even when they needed just 43 off six overs in the second match. Their win in the third game led by Mustafizur Rahman's brilliance avoided an embarrassing whitewash, but it did little to save face.

Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto didn't seem too fussed when speaking to the media following their defeat in the second T20I. "We didn't play well, but we have an opportunity to come up with a good plan in the next match," he said. "We should change our mindset, it's not about our skills."

Of course, one of two things can be true. One, he may be panicking in the background but wants to keep calm in public. Or, he actually isn't too worried, and believes this Bangladesh team has the skill to turn things around.

However, does coach Chandika Hathurusinghe feel the same way? Earlier this year, he blasted the quality of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), claiming that it is not a platform for domestic talent to shine. Overseas players typically occupy the crunch positions including top order batting and death bowling. As a result, the national team suffers, evident by the lack of punch in all disciplines.

"We [Bangladesh] don't have a proper T20 tournament," Hathurusinghe said. "This sounds very odd. When I am watching the BPL, I sometimes turn off the TV. Some players are not even of the [required] class.

"We need to have a tournament where our players can do things like batting in the top three. Bangladesh bowlers bowling in the death. Where will we learn these things otherwise? We have only one tournament."

And what about Stuart Law's comments? The former Bangladesh coach—now coach of the improving USA team—believes the Tigers have not made progress in a quarter of a century.

"Bangladesh haven't moved forward in 25 years," he told Al Jazeera. "Whatever they have been doing hasn't worked, and they need to find out what needs to happen to make them tick."

Such comments from a current and former coach of the national team are damning. But can anyone deem them wrong? Bangladesh have enjoyed flickers of good moments over the years, but most have been on the slow turners at Mirpur that then leaves the team exposed in different conditions. The most prominent example is 2021, where they knocked off under-strength Australia and New Zealand teams at home but were cast aside with disdain not too long after in the World Cup in the UAE.

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That being said, the emergence of Towhid Hridoy and Rishad Hossain are positives. Both were crucial in the victory over Sri Lanka, with Rishad in particular showcasing just how much Bangladesh have missed a quality leg-spinning option over the years. If he and his fellow bowlers can continue to restrict teams, Bangladesh can challenge any team on the slow pitches in the USA and West Indies.

But questions remain around whether they have enough runs. Their recent 4-1 series win at home against Zimbabwe didn't inspire, with the kind of middling scores and languishing strike rates leaving Bangladesh behind the top teams in this format.

Even if the Tigers do progress to the Super Eights and beyond, they need to plan effectively on how they will go forward in the T20 format to ensure such results are not just a flash in the pan. It begins with the domestic competitions and improving the quality of those, with particular focus on giving local players more key roles.

Don't hold your breath though. Given how the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) generally operates, you can be sure there will be more finger-pointing and playing the blame game if things go wrong, instead of proactively working on solutions that will help elevate Bangladesh cricket to the next level.

Time will tell.

Charbel Coorey is an avid cricket writer and fan based in Australia. In addition to managing his own cricket website, Charbel is a passionate Australia fan and follower of the Bangladesh team.

Views expressed in this article are the author's own. 

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