After their crushing defeat to the Netherlands, Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan admitted that this was Bangladesh’s “worst” World Cup campaign in recent memory although they still had three matches remaining in the group stage at that point. The players largely remained a pale shadow of themselves throughout the tournament and finished it with only two wins in nine matches.

Shakib stated after the Netherlands game that they were a bit underprepared. Najmul Hossain Shanto, who stood in for Shakib in two matches, said the floating batting order didn’t help.

Former Bangladesh cricketer Mohammad Rafique agrees with them and feels Bangladesh lacked proper planning and didn’t have a fixed target ahead of the tournament. The legendary left-arm spinner sat with The Business Standard (TBS) and spoke in detail about Bangladesh’s World Cup journey, Chandika Hathurusingha’s role as head coach, the Tamim Iqbal saga and beyond.

How Bangladesh fared in World Cup
“It was a disastrous tournament for us. Teams may lose but there are always positives you can take. But that’s not been the case this time for Bangladesh. We couldn’t put up a fight in matches where we lost. Batting failure really let Bangladesh down, and I feel the bowling also could have been better.”

Reasons behind the failure
“The main reason is that they did not have a proper plan. For tournaments like this, other teams start planning and preparing a year before and they have a fixed squad. But we did the opposite. We chopped and changed, tried a host of new players even just six months before the tournament. Where is the plan? They fielded 25-30 players in an attempt to find the balance. 

We did not have a target. Probably they participated in the tournament for the sake of participating. Look at India, Pakistan or Sri Lanka. How many players have they tried ahead of the World Cup? And then look at Bangladesh. There was no plan, preparation and target.”

Too much shuffling in batting order
“You have to be mentally prepared as a batter. The mental preparation of an opener and a number seven batter is not the same. But if you don’t know where you will bat, it will definitely affect your performance. Bangladesh did too much shuffling in the batting order. It’s one of the reasons.”

Change in coaching staff
“Chandika Hathurusingha had a coaching stint here before. What more can he offer now? We needed someone new who would provide new ideas. But they went backwards. 

If a new coach came, he would try something new. He would have felt the urge to prove himself and work for the betterment of the team. But we went back to an old coach and are working with old ideas.”

Role of Hathurusingha 
“Only Bangladesh gives so much power to a coach. He has done a lot of things like cornering the senior players. Not only Hathurusingha, a lot of foreign coaches were given undue power. But they have come here to earn money. 

Foreigners will come and go, but we and our players will remain here. We have to understand this. Is he someone who will take charge and make us champions? If he was so great, then why don’t others want him? Why did his own country Sri Lanka sack him?”

The Tamim saga
“I watch the game as a supporter. I don’t know the inside news. We watch from outside. But I believe the problem is in the BCB. The whole issue could have affected the team’s performance. There have been problems between players and the BCB. But every family has a guardian who has to take care of everything. If such issues can’t be solved, there is no point in sitting in that chair. I have never seen such a dirty team environment. It has obviously affected the team’s performance as it’s a mental game.”