Bangladesh were outplayed by Scotland in their first game of the T20 World Cup and poor performances, especially with the bat left their fans very disappointed. The disappointment soon turned into stern criticism on social media and the skipper Mahmudullah Riyad was at the forefront of the social media bashing after the loss against Scotland.
Now, as Bangladesh have made a strong comeback and secured a place in the Super 12 of the tournament, Mahmudullah has responded to criticisms that he has found “belittling”.
He said that the senior players that include him, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim were bashed for their strike rate but they tried their best to execute their plans without producing desirable results.
He was particularly disappointed with fans questioning their commitment towards the game and the country and said that some of them consume painkillers to play for the country. He said that although players are playing at the highest leave, they too are humans and like all other human beings, they too fail to do everything right on the field.
"Everyone has social media on their phone. We expect criticism when it is warranted, but if that is belittling, we feel bad," Mahmudullah said.
"There were many questions, including about the three senior players' strike rate. We tried hard, but we didn't get the result. Everyone makes sacrifices. We play with injuries. Some of us take painkillers every day. Many don't know about these things, so it is not right to talk about our commitment. I hope we can be more settled now. Within the team, there is positive energy, and for that, I thank the whole team. I hope things will get better."
"We are human beings and we also make mistakes. When we play, the whole country plays together. We keep it in our minds. I don't think anyone has more feelings for it than us. We played bad and we knew that we would receive criticism. We all were hurt by it," he added.
Bangladesh are through to the Super 12 of the tournament after registering their highest-ever win over Papua New Guinea in the last game of the first round.