Bangladesh cricket’s death certificate shredded again

On August 16, Bangladesh cricket rose from the dead – again.

It had been declared dead by naysayers for the umpteenth time in June-July, after an embarrassing innings defeat to Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe, followed by an ODI series defeat.

Any hopes of a faint heartbeat were dismissed after they lost a three-day tour match by an innings against a Cricket Australia XI, with Campbell Thompson, an unheralded quick with only one first-class appearance, taking eight wickets to roll over the tourists for 54.

Up against perhaps the greatest red-ball bowling attack of this generation in their own backyard, the Marrara Stadium in Darwin was set to be the burial ground of the Tigers.

The question before the match wasn’t whether Bangladesh would win, lose or draw, it was how long the Tigers could compete against the mighty Aussies.

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto had set lofty expectations in the pre-match press conference.

“We want to play till the fifth day, take it session by session. There will always be discussion about whether we can take it to the fifth day. As players, we want to take it to the fifth day,” Shanto said.

But the match did not go the distance, wrapping up inside three-and-a-half days, because that’s how long it took for Shanto and his troops to pull off the biggest ever win in the country’s Test history.

All of a sudden, the obituaries turned into tributes, the wreaths became garlands, and the last rites to mourn the death of Bangladesh cricket transformed into processions to celebrate the team’s ascension to unforeseen heights.

From death-bed to cloud nine, the Bangladesh cricket team experienced both extremes at jarring speed, but not for the first time.

False obituaries

For the past few years, Bangladesh cricket team has arguably overtaken Pakistan in terms of unpredictability, completing milestone wins and suffering embarrassing defeats in quick succession.

For example, in 2024, the Litton Das-led T20I side clean-swept West Indies in the Caribbean – Bangladesh’s first-ever 3-0 clean-sweep away from home against a full member.

In Bangladesh’s very next T20I series, the team suffered a 1-2 series defeat against the UAE at Sharjah – which was followed by the cries over Bangladesh cricket’s decline.

Statistically, 2025 ended as one of Bangladesh’s best-ever years in T20Is with 15 wins – most in a calendar year – and maiden series wins over Sri Lanka and Pakistan (excluding the one-off T20I win in 2015).

But the noise over the defeats in the UAE overshadowed the successes that both preceded and followed.

In ODIs, Bangladesh had lost their way for a few years. Poor performances in the 2023 World Cup, the 2025 Champions Trophy and in home ODI series were proof of that.

But even in Bangladesh’s weakest format at the moment, there are some encouraging signs with four back-to-back home series wins over West Indies, Pakistan, New Zealand and Australia.

The 2-1 series win over Australia was the most notable, as it was their first-ever ODI series win over the Aussies in June.

But the success against Australia were thrown aside with the 1-2 defeat against Zimbabwe in Harare.

Over the last few years, consistency has clearly been an issue but in terms of outcomes across three formats, there is no clear evidence to suggest that Bangladesh cricket has overall declined in the last few years at the international level.

But the general perception of Bangladesh cricket is very different, and the reason behind that has hardly anything to do with cricket.

The made-up football-cricket clash

In the last two years or so, the people of Bangladesh have rediscovered their love for Bangladesh football.

The arrival of Hamza Choudhury sparked this interest, which has been compounded by many other Bangladeshi-origin players following in his footsteps.

The rise in popularity of Bangladesh football has led a vocal section on social media to proclaim that cricket would be taken over, and football will become the country’s top sport once again. It is an entertaining narrative, but one that increasingly feels less like a footballing assessment and more like a superiority complex dressed up as sporting analysis.

Since Hamza's arrival, Bangladesh have managed three wins, four draws and four defeats — hardly a record that suggests the country's football revolution has already arrived.

It does, however, represent a noticeable improvement in interest and belief around the national team.

The biggest win of the Hamza era came against India, when Bangladesh secured a historic 1-0 victory over their neighbours — their first win against India in 22 years.

Their Asian Cup qualifying campaign produced a mixture of promise and frustration.

Against Hong Kong, China, Bangladesh suffered a dramatic 4-3 defeat in Dhaka despite taking the lead through Hamza's superb free-kick.

Four days later, Bangladesh showed their resilience by earning a 1-1 draw away to Hong Kong.

Then came the landmark 2-1 victory over San Marino in a friendly, Bangladesh's first-ever win against a European opposition in their first match on European soil.

These results and the arrivals of Hamza and Co. have renewed enthusiasm around the team. But the supposed football versus cricket narrative is largely a creation of social media.

In a country of 180 million people, neither sport has to compete against the other for public attention.

Bangladesh can love cricket and football simultaneously.

These results matter. So does the renewed enthusiasm around the team. Hamza has given Bangladesh football a figure capable of attracting attention far beyond the traditional football audience, while players of Bangladeshi origin have added depth and a sense of possibility that was previously missing.

But that does not mean Bangladesh football has suddenly overtaken cricket.

The supposed football-versus-cricket battle is largely a creation of social media. There is no trophy awarded for having the louder fanbase, no ranking for which sport generates the most passionate arguments online, and certainly no need for one sport to collapse for another to succeed.

Bangladesh can love cricket and football simultaneously.

BCB tussle

Over the last two years, on-field cricket has taken a backseat as the power struggle inside the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has often taken the centre-stage.

Three former Bangladesh captains have led the BCB since the ouster of the Awami League regime following the July Revolution.

The constant mud-slinging, accusations and counter-accusations, and boycotts from clubs and players have left a bad impression on the cricket fans, many of whom have simply soured on the game.

The Fab Five hangover

For years, the Bangladesh cricket team revolved around five players – Mahsrafe Bin Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim.

Of them, Mashrafe and Shakib have tainted their legacies with their involvement with the ousted Awami League regime.

Tamim is now leading BCB and Mahmudullah as moved on to coaching. Mushfiq is the only one left in the mix – only playing in Tests.

The actual impact of the Fab Five is debatable, as they helped Bangladesh win many matches and earn respectability but they also failed to win the team a major trophy.

But a large section of Bangladesh cricket supporters, who fell in love with the game through these five players, are still stuck on them, and don’t have the same faith in the players that followed next.

While this new team continues to achieve great things, those fans continue to overlook them and zero in on the slip-ups.

Bangladesh cricket lives

The fans who had claimed to have washed their hands of the Bangladesh cricket team, were glued to their screens at 6:30 in the morning on Sunday.

In Darwin, the Bangladesh team did the unthinkable, accomplishing something most Bangladesh cricket supporters would not even dare to dream of, and they did so with the calm authority of a seasoned Test unit.

However, chances are, the ecstasy of the Darwin win will be forgotten after the next slip-up. The obituaries will return, so will the naysayers, who with smug arrogance proclaim that they have been right all along – Bangladesh cricket is indeed dead.

And this Bangladesh side, one without a fab five, will continue to try and punch above their weight across formats.