Strike rate weighing Tigers down in T20Is

Low strike rates and an inability to clear the ropes more frequently have long been Bangladesh's stumbling blocks in the shortest format. Those frailties got badly exposed in the first two T20Is of the three-match series against India, where the hosts completely decimated the visitors even with an inexperienced line-up.

After losing the first T20I in Gwalior by seven wickets, in which India chased down a 128-run target inside 12 overs, the Tigers got hammered by 86 runs in the following match in Delhi, reaching 135-9 in reply to the hosts' massive total of 221-9.

In the second T20I, the Indian batters bombarded Bangladesh with 15 sixes, making use of the shorter straight boundaries, whereas Bangladesh could hit just four, three fewer than India's Nitish Kumar Reddy.

This difference in the number of sixes is the outward symptom of Bangladesh's underlying issue -- low strike rate of the batters.

Looking at the strike rates of Bangladesh players who have made at least 300 runs in T20Is, the number one spot is occupied by former captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, who retired from the format in 2017. He scored 377 runs in 39 innings at a strike rate of 136.10.

There is no one else even in the 130-mark, with Towhid Hridoy (127.25) occupying the second spot while in the third spot is another former captain Mohammad Ashraful (126.40), who last played a T20I in 2013.

In comparison, under the same criteria, Rinku Singh tops the chart for India with a staggering strike rate of 175.09. In fact, the number does not drop below 140 in the top 10 for India, with Rohit Sharma's strike rate of 140.89 granting him the 10th spot.

To really hit the point home on how far the Bangladesh batters are lagging behind, Mashrafe's strike rate in T20Is ranks 108th in the world among players from both full members and associate nations who have made at least 300 runs in the format.

Bangladesh being so far behind is not surprising, however, considering the lower strike rates in the country's only franchise-based domestic T20 tournament: Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

There have been 10 BPL editions so far and in none of them has the tournament strike rate crossed the 130 mark, with the 2019-20 edition coming the closest at 129.40.

Interestingly, the inaugural edition in 2012 is second in the list with 125.07, a clear indication that batting in BPL has remained the same in over a decade at a time when the format has become much more dynamic worldwide, with the strike rate in this year's IPL being at 150.58.

As long as the strike rate of batters remain low, Bangladesh's fortunes in T20Is will remain bleak and more humiliations at the hands of superior teams will be inevitable.