The Indian men’s cricket team travelled to Bangladesh for the first time since June 2015 this year for a bilateral series, and like seven years ago, they suffered a shock series defeat this time as well. India lost the first two ODIs of the three-match series against the hosts by a close margin. In the first ODI, the Men in Blue lost by one wicket, whereas in the second match, the margin of defeat was just five runs. Indian players did try their best to be on the positive side of the result, but they failed to get the desired results.
India suffered the same fate during the 2015 tour. At that time, they also lost the first two matches but managed to redeem some pride by winning the third game. It remains to be seen if Indian players can manage to do the same this year as well. The third and final ODI of the series will take place on Saturday, December 10.
The series defeat against Bangladesh is Indian skipper Rohit Sharma’s first loss as Indian captain in ODIs.
Following India’s defeat against the world’s No. 7 ODI side, the BCCI is planning to hold a review meeting. According to a report in The Indian Express, the BCCI officials will meet Indian captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Rahul Dravid, NCA chief VVS Laxman, and former skipper Virat Kohli after the team returns from Bangladesh.
The board was willing to conduct the review meeting after the end of the T20 World Cup, but it couldn’t happen because some of the officials weren’t available. But now that India has lost two back-to-back matches against a lower-ranked side like Bangladesh, the board wants to meet and discuss the plans.
“We weren’t able to meet the Indian team before going to Bangladesh as some of the office bearers were busy, but we will schedule it as soon as the team is back from Bangladesh. It has been an embarrassing performance, and we didn’t expect this team to lose to Bangladesh,” a top BCCI official was quoted as saying.
India’s tour of Bangladesh will end on December 26 following the conclusion of the second Test which will take place in Dhaka.
