Champions Trophy dream, Hathuru’s excuses take centre stage before Bangladesh-Sri Lanka clash

The semi-finals hope of the World Cup may be finished but Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will be desperate to win the match between them scheduled to take place at Delhi on Monday as Champions Trophy 2025 qualification is at stake.

Hosts Pakistan and other top seven teams of the ongoing World Cup will play in the 2025 tournament and Bangladesh, who have won just one out of the seven matches, must beat Sri Lanka to keep their hopes alive.

But, before the clash weather became the most concerning issue and to make things even discuss-worthy Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha said although he takes blame for the failure of his side, he believes his real job will start after the tournament.

The pre-match press conference thus became very interesting as the former Sri Lankan international discussed a few other things as well.

“We were a little bit concerned. That's why we cancelled one practice session as well. So, we are trying to minimise our exposure to the outdoors as much as possible because we need to practise as well as well as that we have to be careful of the long-term effects of this condition,” said the coach about the air pollution of Delhi that surpassed the endurance level by a big margin.

But the coach also felt they had to prepare for the game and he looked forward to a competitive match.

“It's affecting both teams. And it's not ideal, but we have no choice. We have to play in the conditions in front of us. But the pitch and the ground look immaculate. I think it is one of the best pitches that we're probably going to play in this World Cup.

Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have played really good matches in the recent past. The thing is, both teams in a really similar situation, to be honest, are trying to finish as high as possible because we have lost the opportunity to get into the semi-final now.

But still the Champions Trophy [qualification] is up for grabs. We need to finish as high as possible. So, this game has a big impact on those who finish higher.”

Bangladesh got off to a good start in the tournament beating Afghanistan but they lost the next six games. It was however, not only the defeats but the way they meekly surrendered in all those matches including the non-Test playing side Netherlands, that received stern criticisms. Hathuru, who is known to exert authority over his side, took the blame for such a debacle.

“I take responsibility as well as anyone in the group because we have disappointed the fans and we disappointed ourselves as well. We didn't play our best cricket but the thing is nothing has changed from the first game to now. Only [what] has changed is what's going through between our ears. Our skills haven’t gone anywhere. So, I think we put ourselves down by having high expectations.

That's the only thing that we can think of, because as you rightly said, we haven't played our best cricket or what we were capable of or we played before coming into the World Cup. So, in that sense, we all need to look at mirrors and see what went wrong.‘

This is the second stint for the former Lankan player as Bangladesh coach and he was recalled seven months ago with an eye on the World Cup. The first stint ended abruptly but the Bangladesh Cricket Board recalled him considering his ability to yield short-term success. However, the coach thought he did not get enough time and control.  

“I started seven months ago, so I had seven months. And then there are certain things beyond my control that happen in between as well - all these things I don't think is the right forum or time for me to think or discuss. At the moment my focus is this game, how we can win the next game. We are doing everything right. The players are training and the mood is good. They are all trying hard. They are all hurting and they all want to do well.”

Batting was the biggest concern for Bangladesh. The side faltered in almost all the matches took place mostly in the batting friendly conditions. Bangladesh axed experience Tamim Iqbal before the tournament and Mahmudullah, who has scored the only century in the tournament, got a last-minute call. The side depended on young players like Najmul Hossain, Towhid Hridoy and even rookie Tanjim Hasan but all of them failed in the big event.

“I don’t think – one more batter would have made things complicated. When we selected this team before, before the World Cup, they had been performing. Their skill hasn’t gone anywhere, whatever is going through our heads is the only thing that is disturbing us. We haven’t played to our potential, we haven’t shown what we are capable of, for some reason we have gone into a shell, especially. That is what we need to fix and come and play fearless cricket,” said the coach.

The frequent shuffle of batting order also took criticisms and many thoughts that unsettled the batters and consequently yielded poor results. But the coach denied the critics and said the change was not the reason for the poor outcome.

And despite two more games to go in the gala event the coach was looking to the future and wanted to release the stress of his charges ahead of those matches.

“My biggest challenge at the moment, keep that environment as stress-free as possible from every angle for them to perform to their best ability.”

With the burden of expectation removed Bangladesh players may at last showcase some good performances.