NEW DELHI:
Bangladesh
captain
Najmul Hossain Shanto
expressed his regret and sorrow to the passionate supporters of his country for their dismal showing in the
T20 World Cup
.
He attributed the team's unsatisfactory performance, which culminated in a loss against a determined
Afghanistan
side in Kingstown, to the batting lineup's shortcomings.
Following India's victory over
Australia
on Sunday, both Afghanistan and Bangladesh had a genuine opportunity to progress to the semifinals.
However, it was the team led by
Rashid Khan
that successfully defended a subpar total of 115 to secure their spot in the last four.
In a match affected by rain, Bangladesh was tasked with chasing down the target within 12.1 overs. Unfortunately, they fell short and were bowled out for 105, ending their hopes of advancing further in the tournament.
"First of all, I would like to say that as a team, we let down all the fans of Bangladesh who follow us and support us. So, I apologise on behalf of the team. As a batting group, we couldn't give the best to the people of the country," PTI quoted Shanto as saying at the post-match press conference.
"We feel sorry for that. We will try to come out of this situation in the future."
Shanto expressed disappointment, but he managed to identify some encouraging aspects from the experience, despite the overall letdown.
"The positive side is that the bowlers have bowled very well. Rishad (Hossain) has bowled very well in almost all matches in a big tournament like this. There were a lot of positives, but as a batting unit, we let down the fans and the people of our country.
"We gave them a hard time. But there was no lack in our efforts. Everyone tried their best. Everyone was honest in their place. But at the end of the day, we couldn't make it. So, on behalf of the team, I apologise," he reiterated.
Shanto acknowledged that at a certain point during the match against Afghanistan, they held the upper hand and were in a position to secure victory. However, they were unable to capitalize on the advantage and ultimately failed to clinch the win.
"As a whole bowling unit doing a great job especially, I mentioned Rishad the whole tournament he bowled really well, Tanzim Sakib bowled well. I felt all the bowlers did a great job, that is we can take forward and as a fielding group I think we felt really well in all the matches, so there are some positive things that we can take going forward.
"It's a matter of a lot of frustration and a lot of pain too. Because before coming to play this match, everyone's plan was that we would win the match first. But if such a situation arises, then we will definitely take the chance that we had. But we couldn't take it. And the whole batting line-up made very bad decisions."
Asked if Bangladesh let it slip by not scoring enough runs in the powerplay and later Mahmudullah playing too many dot balls, Shanto said: "The plan was that we would try to score in the first six overs. If we start well and we don't lose the early wickets, then we will take the chance. But when we lost three early wickets, our plan was different.
"Our plan was how we could win the match then. Because our plan was to win the match. I would say that the middle order didn't make a good decision. Because of this, I think we lost the match."
English (US) ·