Bangladesh board pledges to right the wrongs

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has promised to implement the recommendations of the inquiry panel which was set up to look into the causes for Bangladesh's miserable performance in the World Cup. Ali Asghar, president of the BCB, stated: "We have the report and we will correct the loopholes."

Bangladesh went through the entire World Cup without registering a single win. They lost to Kenya and Canada, and their only points came from a rained out fixture against West Indies. The inquiry committee was scathing in its criticism of the board and the team management.

"The truth remains that there was noticeable inadequacy and complacency on the part of both the [present and past Bangladesh Cricket] Boards," the committee said in its report after an inquiry lasting nearly three months. "[This had been] adequately reflected in the quality of our team's performance. The sooner things are put right, the sooner cricket will improve."

The report said that Khaled Masud, the captain who has since been dropped from the team, "fought with the manager on the issue of tickets, and there were instances where he spent nights out of the hotel.

"In particular, the night before the Kenya match, [Masud] was seen outside the hotel at well past midnight, and this obviously contributed to the deterioration of his ability as a player and it is no wonder that he dropped three regulation catches against Kenya the following day. It appears that his conduct and captaincy do raise questions about his motives."

However, Asghar rejected suggestions that Mashud had deliberately underperformed. "Both the International Cricket Council and the BCB had found no basis to carry out further investigation into his role."

The report added that there was no consultation among the captain, physio and trainer over the team line-up. Bangladesh's Pakistani coach Mohsin Kamal, now succeeded by Australian Dav Whatmore, had a communication and language problem with the team. "One gets the impression that the selection of the coach, to say the least, was poor and gives the impression it was more a political choice rather than a selection of an able and competent hand."

Following interviews with Kamal and his assistant Ali Zia, the committee concluded that "neither of them was really competent, dedicated, sincere or committed enough to perform their duties. The fact is, they were being paid well and were quite happy."

Whatmore, whose first assignment with the team will be an overseas series against Australia in July, was under no illusions about the task at hand. "Taking charge of the team is a privilege, but I am not day-dreaming nor want anybody to do so," he said after signing the contract with the BCB last month.