Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusinghe has identified "high expectations" as the only reason for the batters' failure in their 2023 World Cup campaign. It is well known that Hathurusinghe wasn't a big fan of the high hopes surrounding the team in the pre-tournament build-up. He had made a similar comment in early October when he said that those hoping that Bangladesh will win the World Cup should "wake up from their sleep".
Bangladesh were the first team to be knocked out of this World Cup having lost six of their first seven games. Their main aim now is to secure a spot for the Champions Trophy in 2025 by finishing in the top eight in the points table. They are currently placed ninth and have two games left, against Sri Lanka and Australia.
Bangladesh's batters have collectively failed, with Najmul Hossain Shanto losing form after their first game, while captain Shakib Al Hasan, Tanzid Hasan and Towhid Hridoy have also been short of runs while Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das have been inconsistent. Hathurusinghe conceded that the Bangladesh players were putting a lot of pressure on themselves.
"I take responsibility [of Bangladesh's failure] as equally as anyone in the team," he said at the pre-match press conference in Delhi before the clash against Sri Lanka. "We have disappointed the fans. We have disappointed ourselves as well. We didn't play our best cricket. Nothing has changed from the first game till now. The only thing that changed is what happened between our ears. Our skills hasn't gone anywhere. We have put ourselves down with high expectations.
"That's the only thing I can think of. We haven't played the way we played before the World Cup. In that sense, we have to look at the mirror to know what went wrong. Players want to perform at the biggest stage. Maybe we are trying to do too much. We have to look back and think what went wrong. It has affected many players. It can be any of those. To be honest, I don't know at the moment."
Bangladesh have shuffled their batting order throughout the competition but Hathurusinghe denied that it had had a negative effect on the team. Mehidy Hasan Miraz has batted in five different spots in the World Cup and that meant established batters like Shanto, Shakib and Hridoy had to bat out of their set positions.
"It is not about the batting order," Hathurusinghe said. "What time of the innings you are coming into bat is more important than the number you bat. We haven't [been] given any starts.
"One more batter [in the squad] could have made things complicated. When we selected this team before the World Cup, we thought they were the best performers. Their skills hasn't gone anywhere. The only thing disturbing us is what's going on between our ears. We haven't played to our potential. We are not sure of what we are capable of. For some reason, we have gone into a little bit of a shell, especially batting. We need to fix this. We have to play fearless cricket."
Shanto, who had been one of Bangladesh's best batters this year until the World Cup, started with an unbeaten 59 in their opening game against Afghanistan, but he has scored only 28 runs since then in six innings, all with single-digit scores, including two ducks. Hathurusinghe put that down to his luck, and not for lack of trying.
"He got out similarly so that's what is wrong," the coach said. "It wasn't lack of trying. Any good batter can get out in the first five or ten balls. He got out first ball twice. Some of the balls he got out to - down the leg side or half-volleys - any other day you have seen he hits those for boundaries. Things have not gone right in certain ways for us."
Hathurusinghe said that the seven months he had since being appointed Bangladesh head coach weren't enough to prepare the team for the World Cup. He said that external factors also played a role in the preparation. "I can't do much in seven months. I prepared the team for the World Cup. My work has to start after the World Cup. Taking the team forward is a separate thing.
"Certain things beyond my control happened in between as well. I don't think this is the right time for me to think or discuss. At the moment my focus is to win the next game. We are doing everything right. The mood is good. Players are training. They are all hurting but they want to do well. My biggest challenge is to keep the environment stress-free from every angle so that they can perform to the best of their ability."