Former all-rounder, Shahid Afridi, believes that Bangladesh will need to improve the standards of their pitches if they want to become a formidable side in international cricket. Afridi said that Bangladesh’s recent poor performances are down to the sluggish nature of their pitches and their players are not used to conditions on offer in other countries.
Afridi’s comments came after the Bangladesh team was whitewashed in the T20I series against Pakistan. Prior to the T20I series, Bangladesh had a torrid time in the 2021 T20 World Cup as they lost all of their Super 12s matches and also suffered an embarrassing loss at the hands of Scotland in the first round of the competition.
The 44-year old took to Twitter to offer crucial advice to the Bangladesh Cricket Board.
Afridi tweeted, “Bangladesh really need to do some soul searching, do they want to win on such pitches and give ordinary performances abroad and in World Cups? They have great talent and passion for the game but desperately need better pitches if they want to progress.”
Bangladesh really need to do some soul searching, do they want to win on such pitches and give ordinary performances abroad and in World Cups? They have great talent and passion for the game but desperately need better pitches if they want to progress. https://t.co/RFJymfZkiE
— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) November 22, 2021
Bangladesh looked like strong contenders for the semi-final spot in the 2021 T20 World Cup prior to the start of the tournament. They had inflicted series defeats on eventual World Cup finalists, Australia and New Zealand, in Bangladesh and looked set to continue their magnificent run in the mega event. The Tigers got exposed in the competition as they were not able to handle the conditions on offer in the UAE and it raised a lot of question marks on Bangladesh’s strategy of preparing spinning tracks.
However, Bangladesh will be hoping to turn their fortunes around in the longest format of the game as they face Pakistan in a two-match Test series, scheduled to commence from 26 November in Chittagong.
