BAN vs SL: Khaled Mahmud Expresses Dissatisfaction With His Limited Role As Director In Bangladesh's World Cup 2023 Campaign

Bangladesh cricket team director Khaled Mahmud expressed dissatisfaction over his role with the team in the ICC World Cup 2023. Khaled Mahmud stated that he doesn’t enjoy his role, emphasizing his lack of involvement in decision-making compared to the past.

The Shakib Al Hasan-led team has one of their World Cup campaigns. The Bangladesh team registered just one victory out of seven games, marking their early elimination from semi-final contention. They were the first team to be eliminated from the marquee tournament.

I Don’t Have The Decision-Making Role – Khaled Mahmud

Khaled Mahmud emphasized that he lacks a cricketing role or involvement in coaching, and his duties are limited to discipline and guardianship. Mahmud noted that he had more technical responsibilities in previous World Cups.

“I am performing only the role assigned to me by the BCB. I don’t have the decision-making role as I have had in previous tours as a selector. Previously, I tried to keep myself involved with the team. This time, I don’t have a cricketing role. Firstly, I don’t want to be in this role like this. I have cricket in my blood. Coaching is my profession. But I am not involved with coaching with the Bangladesh team,” Mahmud said.

“I had a technical role even at the last World Cup when I could speak to players. But this time, I am keeping myself away. I am definitely not enjoying this role as the head of the delegation. I am just roaming around, playing the role as a guardian to the players. I am taking care of discipline, but this is not really my work. If I knew this was my role, I wouldn’t have come to the World Cup,” he added.

We Should Have Been More Serious – Khaled Mahmud

Khaled Mahmud criticized the decision to play on slow pitches in Mirpur right before the tournament, emphasizing that the team should have been better prepared and focused on World Cup conditions.

“I don’t know what I was thinking when I said before the World Cup that we’d play the semi-final. Maybe I had seen the boys’ body language and playing style. I honestly thought they would do well in Indian conditions. I had great expectations. But I am feeling very bad that we just don’t have a fighting mentality,” Mahmud said.

“I was not in favour of playing against New Zealand in Mirpur before the World Cup. Why did we have to play on those spinning pitches? Why did we want to win that series? We should have played in Chattogram and Sylhet. We lost the series despite New Zealand not bringing their main players. We should have been more serious, well before time, about the World Cup.”

Also read: SL vs PAK: “We Are World Class Brothers”- Maheesh Theekshana Takes A Dig At Khaled Mahmud