We didn't play our best cricket in WC, says Tigers' coach

NEW DELHI, Nov 05 (AFP): Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha said his players have retreated into "a shell" at the World Cup, insisting their problems are "between the ears".

The Tigers have just one win in seven games and are already out of contention for a semi-final place despite having two group games left to play.

"We didn't play our best cricket but the thing is nothing has changed from the first game to now. Only change is what's going on between our ears. Our skills haven't gone anywhere," said Hathurusingha.

Bangladesh face Sri Lanka in pollution-choked New Delhi on Monday before rounding off their campaign against five-time champions Australia in Pune on Saturday.

They began the World Cup with a victory over Afghanistan but they were only chasing 156 to win.

Since then, they have slipped to heavy losses to England, New Zealand, India, South Africa and Pakistan.

They also suffered probably their lowest point in losing to the Netherlands, bowled out for just 142 in pursuit of a modest 230-run target.

In a tournament where huge totals have become standard, Bangladesh's best was 256 against India.

Furthermore, they have only one batsman and one bowler in the top 25 of run-makers and wicket-takers.

Mahmudullah, who will be 38 in February and highly unlikely to feature at the 2027 World Cup, has 274 runs with an impressive average of more than 68.

Off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz is Bangladesh's leading bowler albeit with just nine wickets.

"Their skill hasn't gone anywhere, whatever is going through our heads is the only thing that is disturbing us," added Hathurusingha.

"We haven't shown what we are capable of. For some reason we have gone into a shell, especially in batting. That is what we need to fix and come and play fearless cricket."

"My biggest challenge at the moment, keep that environment stress-free as possible from every angle for them to help them perform to their best ability."

Hathurusingha also stood by comment of playing the semifinal.

"It's not a wrong comment because we all want to do well. We have a high hopeand we have the expectation to do well and we thought that we are capable of doing but then we couldn't achieve so it's not a wrong comment."