‘New players have stopped surfacing into their side’ – Inzamam-ul-Haq on Bangladesh’s constant dependency on big-name players

Former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq reckoned that Bangladesh are dependent on a select few players across formats for over a prolonged period of time. On Monday, the Tigers lost 0-3 against Babar Azam’s Pakistan in their T20I series at home. In the third and final T20I in Dhaka, their captain, Mahmudullah, picked up three wickets in the last over but couldn’t save his team from a loss.

Inzamam said Bangladesh cricket hasn’t worked on improving their playing conditions and also stated that there’s hardly any competition for places in the team. The veteran was of the opinion that it’s high time for the Tigers to draft in new faces in their ranks.

The 51-year-old Inzamam put forth his opinions while speaking on his YouTube channel ‘Inzamam-ul Haq – The Match Winner’.

They have the same faces contributing to them, says Inzamam-ul-Haq

“If I talk about Bangladesh’s perspective, I feel that they still have those 3-4 set of players who have been playing and contributing to the team since past 6-7 years. They haven’t improved their conditions, pitches and not even the competition in the side. I feel that the new players have stopped surfacing into their side,” Inzamam said.

“They have the same faces contributing to them, and a few of them weren’t even playing in this series (referring to the absence of Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim). I think Bangladesh should ponder over this situation and look to improve their cricket,” he stated.

Inzamam also said that Babar has some distance to travel as the skipper of the Pakistan national cricket team. He was impressed by the youngster’s leadership skills during the T20 World Cup 2021.

“Today Babar Azam equalled Sarfaraz Ahmed’s record of winning 17 T20I matches in one calendar year as a captain. We aren’t rating Babar Azam that highly for his captaincy, though he was sending good signs during the World Cup. And his triumphs are showing that he is continuously improving as a skipper,” Inzamam added.

Pakistan, under Babar, won five games in a row in the Super 12 of the World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. However, they lost to Aaron Finch’s Australia in the semi-final at Dubai and bowed out of the tournament.