Bangladesh national cricket team is returning home empty handed on Sunday after a disappointing tour of New Zealand. After three ODI series against the Kiwis, the Tigers have also been whitewashed in the three match T20 series as well. They lost six matches in the space of 13 days, which was not ideal especially considering they arrived in the country after a 2-0 home Test series loss against West Indies.
After such a dismal series, Tigers are returning to the country on Sunday. The return of physio Julian Calfato to Dhaka on the same flight will be a little different. This Italian citizen settled in South Africa is returning without a passport! He lost his passport during Bangladesh’s nightmare tour of New Zealand.
However, Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo and fielding coach Ryan Cook are not returning with the team. They will return to Dhaka a few days before the Tigers leave for a Test tour of Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh travelled to New Zealand with high hopes and were determined to earn their maiden win in their backyard, but hardly managed to put up a fight in any of the games apart from the second ODI. But all said and done, Bangladesh have now lost 32 games against New Zealand in New Zealand.
Bangladesh, who have travelled to New Zealand thrice in the last four years, still failed to cope with difficult conditions although the weather, pitch and outfield remained the same as on previous tours. The promise of bouncy and pacey wickets also remained unchanged as did the performance from the Tigers. What didn’t change was Tigers application on how to adapt with such conditions.
They now have 8 days to recover before getting on the flight to Colombo from Dhaka, for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka starting on April 21. Bangladesh will travel to Sri Lanka on April 12 to play a two-Test series.
Like the New Zealand tour, Bangladesh will not be getting the services of world’s best all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan in this series. He will play for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL at that time. Mustafizur Rahman, known as 'Cutter Master', is also not on a tour of Lanka. He will also be playing in the IPL for Rajasthan Royals.
