Sports desk:

Bangladesh suffered a 2-1 defeat in the recently concluded three-match one-day international series against Afghanistan, which was a wake-up call and lesson for the Tigers ahead of the forthcoming Asia Cup and ICC World Cup 2023.

The hosts lost the first two games while managing a win in the last match of the series to avoid a clean sweep against the lower-ranked Afghans.

The visitors won by 17 runs in the D/L method in the rain-hit first game, while they earned a massive 142-run victory over the hosts in the second match to seal their first-ever ODI series against Bangladesh.

Bangladesh’s sorry surrender against the Afghans in the 50-over series came as a surprise, as this is their favourite format, and the Tigers hadn’t lost an ODI series at home since 2015, barring world champions England this year.

The hosts even clinched a massive 546-run victory in the one-off Test against the visitors last month, which made everyone think the Tigers would have a comfortable win over Afghanistan in the ODI series, as they had also won in the previous two ODI series they played against the Afghans in 2019 and 2022.

However, despite all the speculation, Afghanistan stunned the Tigers and dominated them in all three departments of the first two games, which provided the Tigers with lessons not to get too complacent and not take any side lightly, especially in the forthcoming international tournaments, the Asia Cup and the World Cup.

The Asia Cup is scheduled to start in September in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, while the World Cup will start in October in India, and Bangladesh will start their World Cup campaign with their match against Afghanistan in Dharamshala on October 7.

Bangladesh had good practice during the ODI series by facing world-class spinners like Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, but the series loss proved that the Tigers were complacent ahead of the ODI series after winning the lone Test.

‘Bangladesh got complacent after winning the one-off Test and also misread the wicket in the first match, and decided to bat first on a bowling-friendly wicket, which propelled them to lose the game,’ prominent Bangladeshi coach Nazmul Abedin Fahim told New Age.

‘And in the second game, indisciplined bowling caused a massive problem for the Tigers. They had no plans and seemed like they were in a hurry. During the chase, they failed to play in an organised manner from the very beginning, for which they couldn’t build the innings and lost the game by such a margin.

‘Sometimes they [Tigers] might feel like it is given that they will play well whenever they get on the field. Sometimes they fail to act cautiously, but they can’t take any team for granted and can’t think before any game that they will surely win. They need to be disciplined, and everyone needs to fulfill their responsibilities.’

Fahim also warned Bangladesh to be careful, especially while facing lower-ranked sides in the World Cup, saying everyone would target Bangladesh to earn valuable points during the global tournament, and carelessness might cost the Tigers heavily.

‘Many will target Bangladesh in the World Cup. The process that helps them play well, they need to repeat that again and again,’ he said.

He believed that despite the defeat in the ODI series, Bangladesh had a good chance to win against the visitors in the two-match Twenty20 International series starting on Friday at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.

Both teams reached Sylhet on Wednesday to take part in the series.

‘Afghanistan have a few special players, but the rest are average. But the Tigers have more above-average players than Afghanistan, apart from their two-to-three special players. If Bangladesh can play their regular game, there is a good chance that they will win,’ he concluded.