Dubai: Bangladesh head coach Phil Simmons attributed his team’s defeat to Pakistan—and the consequent end of their Asia Cup final hopes—to dropped catches and poor shot selection.
Bangladesh had Pakistan struggling at 51 for 5, but the game slipped away after the team dropped Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Nawaz, both of whom played crucial cameos. Afridi struck two sixes in a quick 19 off 13 balls, while Nawaz’s brisk 25 off 15 balls, including two sixes and a four, helped Pakistan reach a competitive 135 for 8.
“When we dropped Shaheen and Nawaz, that’s when the game changed,” Simmons said at the post-match press conference. “Before that, we were in control. Some catches may have been affected by the lights, but the ones we dropped were purely mistakes.” He was referring to Dubai’s “ring of fire” lighting, which can make it difficult for fielders to sight the ball.
Bangladesh looked well-positioned to chase the target at the halfway mark, but a series of poor shots by the batters derailed the chase.
“It was just bad decisions. Every team has such moments. Today, it was us. We didn’t make the best shot selections,” Simmons admitted.
The 62-year-old also highlighted Bangladesh’s lack of depth, particularly when senior players like captain Litton Das—absent due to a side strain—are unavailable.
“We chased 169 against Sri Lanka two games ago. Losing Tanzid (Hasan) and our captain in the same game leaves a big gap. We’re getting there, but we’re not at that stage yet. Losing a captain in such good form is significant,” he said.
Simmons stressed that the issue was not just strike rates, historically a challenge for Bangladesh in T20Is, but the failure to build partnerships.
“The strike-rate gap will reduce as the players gain more international experience. I agree our strike-rate isn’t among the highest, but we hit plenty of sixes. It’s not about scoring quickly; it’s about batting longer and building partnerships,” he concluded.
