USA cricket team coach Stuart Law says Bangladesh haven’t moved forward in 25 years

Stuart Law, the former Australian batter and current USA head coach, stated that Bangladesh cricket has not progressed in this millennium, despite the Tigers making a strong first impression in a global event with a win over Pakistan, the eventual runners-up in the ODI World Cup in 1999.

Speaking to Al Jazeera ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup, co-hosted by USA and the West Indies from 1 June, Law said, “Bangladesh haven’t moved forward in 25 years.”

Law, who briefly served as Bangladesh’s head coach in 2011-2012, has kept a close eye on the country’s cricket over the years.

The Australian had recently led the Bangladesh U-19 team before taking over as coach of the USA team days before they faced Bangladesh in three T20Is at home, stunning the visitors and winning the series with a game in hand.

The Tigers, who have yet to advance to the knockout stage of the competition despite competing in every edition of the T20 World Cup since its inception in 2007, face a stiff challenge this time, needing to win at least one match in their first two group matches — against Sri Lanka and South Africa — to remain in contention for a spot in the next round.

Law stated that the Bangladesh cricket administration should consider the reality that “whatever they have been doing hasn’t worked, and they need to find out what needs to happen to make them tick”.

“Maybe it is time to sit back and think, ‘This is the way we have been doing it, it hasn’t been working, we haven’t moved forward – maybe we need to do it slightly differently’.

“That’s not talking down the current administration, but they need to look at all aspects of the game,” he reiterated.

The 55-year-old coach believes that focusing on youth will help Bangladesh achieve excellence.

“If Bangladesh can nail that young development phase, get them in from the ages of 12 to 16 and give them a good diet and a good grounding of physical fitness, then the world could see a Bangladesh team that is untouchable,” he said.