'I would call it a disgrace' - ‘Disappointed’ Khaled Mahmud calls out Bangladesh after dismal performance against Zimbabwe

Khaled Mahmud, the team director of the Bangladesh team, is disappointed after the loss to Zimbabwe in the third and final T20I of the series. After losing the first match of the series, the Bangla Tigers made a comeback in the second match but lost the decider by 10 runs at Harare on Tuesday (August 2).

This is the first time when Zimbabwe managed to win a T20I series against a Test-playing nation. Mahmud termed this loss a ‘disgrace’ and urged his players to make amends immediately. His disappointment is quite natural after Bangladesh have managed to win only two out of their last 11 T20Is. Mahmud also said that the strike-rate of every player is bothering the team.

Speaking to the press, the 51-year-old said, “I am very disappointed. I didn’t expect to lose to Zimbabwe. We are better than them. I would call it a disgrace. I won’t give any excuses. We should have won the T20I series. Losing was quite unusual.”

You can’t win a game by batting at 90 or 110 strike-rate: Khaled Mahmud

“When you are chasing 157, you can’t win a game by batting at 90 or 110 strike-rate. Someone had to go after the bowling. You can’t expect Liton Das to score every day. Whether it was Afif or Shanto, I didn’t see anyone batting aggressively. If you can’t pull a short ball for six, that’s going to be a problem,” he said.

Mahmud also said that he expects players like Munim Shahriar and Parvez (Hossain Emon) to come out of their shell and show their class in international cricket. Meanwhile, Bangladesh will look forward to giving their best in the upcoming ODI series against Zimbabwe.

With the T20 World Cup around the corner, the team needs to find momentum and positivity going forward. The ODI series is scheduled to start on 5th August at Harare. The two other matches are scheduled for August 7 and August 10 respectively.