Dhaka, Oct 3 (V7N) – Bangladesh head coach Mohammad Salahuddin has issued an apology to the nation after the men's cricket team squandered the chance of winning the bronze medal in the Asian Games cricket event following a 63-run defeat to Sri Lanka at Korogi Sports Park in Nagoya, Japan today.
Bangladesh entered the tournament with an aim to secure gold but lost to Pakistan in the semifinal and were forced to play the bronze-deciding match. Their performance was dismal, drawing huge criticism on and off the field. Bangladesh Women's team also failed to win any medal in this event, making it the first time since the introduction of cricket discipline in the games that neither the male nor female team won any medal.
Sri Lanka, which sent almost a second-string team for the event, were reduced to 21-4 but recovered strongly to post 165-9. Bangladesh's bowlers conceded heavily in the final 10 overs. The chase quickly unravelled as Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Saif Hasan and captain Liton Das were dismissed without scoring, and Bangladesh were eventually bowled out for 102, with Nasum Ahmed top-scoring with 26.
"We are actually very ashamed. As coach, I feel we have failed," Salahuddin told reporters in Japan. "We could not do anything that we had promised to the nation. It is very disappointing. We are ashamed and apologize to the entire nation," he added.
Salahuddin said both the bowling and batting departments were culpable for the defeat. "The bowlers bowled very badly for a few overs, especially the main bowlers, who are T20 specialists," he said. "Since we lost more wickets in the power play in batting, it was not possible to win the match from there."
Liton defended his teammates after the defeat but admitted the team's shortcomings. "We are certainly contrite of what happened. We failed but we will try to overcome it," he said. "To be honest, we did not perform well as a unit."
Bangladesh had previously won medals in all three of their appearances in Asian Games cricket, including gold in 2010. The failure to secure a medal in Nagoya marks a significant setback for Bangladesh cricket, which has been striving to establish itself as a competitive force in international cricket.
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