‘Teams don’t fear Bangladesh at ICC events — that must change’- says Bangladesh pace bowling coach Tait
Bangladesh pace bowling coach Shaun Tait during an exclusive interview with Cricfrenzy
In the tapestry of world cricket, Bangladesh’s presence has always felt like a paradox—a country bursting with passion and raw talent, yet perpetually flirting with potential rather than fulfilling it. Since becoming a full member of the ICC in 2000, Bangladesh has featured regularly in global tournaments, earning both admiration and frustration in equal measure.
Bangladesh’s meeting with the ICC began with the 1999 ODI World Cup in England, where a stunning upset over Pakistan hinted at future promise. But it wasn’t until the 2007 edition that the Tigers truly roared—toppling India and South Africa to reach the Super Eight. That performance laid the groundwork for their best campaign yet in 2015, when they beat England under pressure to qualify for the quarterfinals.
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Yet, these peaks have been overshadowed by long stretches of underperformance. In both 2019 and 2023, Bangladesh failed to make it past the group stage, despite a lineup featuring experienced stalwarts. Their overall ODI World Cup record—16 wins in 48 matches with a 33% win rate—reflects a team that often arrives with ambition but departs with regrets.
T20 cricket has been their most underwhelming frontier in ICC events. Over nine editions, their only real breakthrough came in 2024 when they reached the Super Eight. That run, however, ended in a familiar tale of caution. In a must-win game against Afghanistan, Bangladesh chose a timid chase when boldness was needed.
If their record in the Champions Trophy is statistically their worst—just 3 wins in 15 matches—it’s also where they’ve had one of their most defining moments. In 2017, Bangladesh scripted a historic chase against New Zealand, powered by a 224-run partnership between Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah.
It carried them into their first-ever semifinal in a major ICC event. But the dream ended brutally—India thrashed them by nine wickets, once again highlighting the gap between good and great.
Fast forward to 2025, and Bangladesh returned to the Champions Trophy with quiet optimism. Once again, a tournament ended with disappointment with losses against big teams.
All departments, including the bowling unit, failed to impress in the ICC event. When asked about Bangladesh's bowling struggles in such tournaments, Shaun Tait—Bangladesh’s new pace bowling coach and former Australian speedster—chose not to dwell on the past.
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“What happened in the past is out of my control and doesn’t concern me. What matters is what’s going to happen now, starting in a few days against Pakistan. It’s time to get to know the bowlers and work to raise their level. You are Bangladesh. You've got to get other teams worried about Bangladesh, because at the moment, I think you probably going to ICC events and other teams are not afraid of Bangladesh. They're not concerned of Bangladesh, but we need to change that now. And when you turn up to ICC events, you really need to compete with the top level," Tait said to Cricfrenzy in an exclusive interview.
"Now to compete with India and to compete with Australia, compete with New Zealand and South Africa, England, these teams, you're gonna have to do the really basic things as good as them. Otherwise, there's no other way to compete. So I don't think we should jump too far ahead and say we're gonna beat them straight away. But every single match, the Bangladesh plays needs to be extremely competitive."
And it’s not just fans who notice. Tait sees the same challenge from a performance perspective.
“There are a couple of guys bowling good pace now, a mix of youth and experience—Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed still there. Any cricket team needs that balance. The key is to get the basics to a very high international level. I spent a lot of time around the Australian team, and the best players do the basics better than anyone. We need to get the bowling group to a stage where everything is done really well at a high level. This is the final stage—when players come into the national team, it’s time to perform and win games” he added.
Across the three major ICC tournaments—ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy—Bangladesh has flashed moments of brilliance but failed to stitch together the consistency of genuine contenders.
When a team like Afghanistan, with fewer resources and far less time in the elite circuit, leapfrogs Bangladesh in white-ball success, the excuses lose credibility. Bangladesh cricket does not lack talent. It doesn’t lack heart. But at crucial moments, it lacks belief—the courage to go for glory rather than settle for respectability.
Tait, too, echoes this sentiment. As the team’s new pace bowling coach, he insists that Bangladesh must shift from merely participating to truly competing.
