Captain and coach blamed in Bangladesh inquiry

An inquiry into Bangladesh's disastrous performance in the World Cup has concluded that a combination of politics, partying and complacency was to blame for a set of results that embarrassed a nation.

Bangladesh finished bottom of their group after defeats to Kenya and Canada, their only points coming from a rained-off fixture against West Indies. The Bangladesh Cricket Board established the inquiry in March, and was set to announce its findings at a press conference on Saturday, until the report was leaked to the national Daily Star newspaper.

"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."

Bangladesh have lost 18 out of 19 Tests since their inaugural Test against India at Dhaka in 2000. Their only draw came in a rain-hit fixture against Zimbabwe two seasons ago. They have not won a one-day international since defeating Pakistan in a dead World Cup match in 1999.

The committee laid the blame for the World Cup debacle squarely at the door of the team management. The captain, Khaled Masud, 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."

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."

The team manager, ASM Faruque, also came in for criticism.