Shanto’s cry for ‘good wickets’ brushed aside

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) officials Jalal Yunus and Gazi Ashraf Lipu were not keen on entertaining skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto's accusations that substandard pitches at home had primarily contributed to the Tigers' dismal performance in Twenty20 Internationals.

In an interview with AFP, Shanto put the onus on playing on good wickets at home to kickstart the cure to their batting ailment in the 20-over format.

"First of all, we have to play on good wickets," Shanto said.

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Shanto calls for better wickets at home ahead of T20 World Cup

"Some people can take it as an excuse, but it is really a fact that we play very few matches on good wickets," he added.

Bangladesh had recently lost a three-match T20I series against the USA in Texas in their build-up to the World Cup, on the back of a 4-1 T20I series win against Zimbabwe at home. Despite the contrasting results, the Tiger's lacklustre batting in both series -- ill-suited to the current trend of run feasts seen in the format -- was brought into question.

Shanto had put the blame on the wickets in Chattogram for their string of poor batting displays after losing back-to-back fixtures against the USA and conceding the series. Chief selector Lipu, however, pointed out how the batters struggled to adapt to different conditions.

"I will note down all these before the World Cup and discuss after the World Cup. I think that the exchange of opinions or words right now will not be fruitful for us," Lipu told The Daily Star on Tuesday when asked about Shanto's complaints about wickets at home.

"When the national captain accuses something, it should definitely be taken into consideration. However, you also have to adjust when you go abroad and face slow wickets. Improving wickets at home will improve stroke-playing ability but you also must adapt and bat accordingly when you play on slower wickets. Both are important," he added.

Cricket operations chairman Jalal refused to indulge in the wicket-related talks and put the blame on the batters rather than the playing surfaces, underlining how the batters' faulty application cost them the games against the USA.

"The matches we lost [against the USA], we lost because we failed to show the right application. Just look at the way we lost," Jalal told The Daily Star Tuesday.

"We bat on good wickets in Bangladesh. In one or two matches, it might be different. We have always given good wickets in Chattogram, the best possible wickets we have made there. The games were placed in Chattogram because of the good wickets on offer.

"Against Zimbabwe, I don't think we scored less because of the wickets. The Chattogram curator said they produced the best possible wicket. How many runs did we score in the last game [in Dhaka] where we lost by eight wickets against Zimbabwe? The wickets were good and there were more runs on offer. Our wickets have been good in the past few years and they have improved a lot," he said.

Opposing takes on Bangladesh's batting plight leave room for a sparkling debate. While it is true that good wickets suited to the modern style of T20Is become a key component in improving stroke play and the rate of scoring, the fact that Bangladesh's batting performances have been abhorrently inexplicable in their build-up to the World Cup, despite all of their international exposure, is more concerning than ever.