However, his early strikes could not prevent Zimbabwe from posting 271, and Bangladesh eventually slumped to a 99-run defeat after being bowled out for 172.
After the match, Taskin said individual bowling figures meant little without a team victory. He also identified the 150-run partnership between Brendan Taylor and Craig Ervine as a turning point that took Zimbabwe out of trouble and put Bangladesh on the back foot.
“Losing a match is one of the biggest disappointments for a player or a team. It does not matter whether I take three wickets or five; if we do not win, there is no benefit,” Taskin said.
“The start was excellent, and the wicket was quite good for batting. But after that initial success, they put together a big partnership in the middle, which helped them get well ahead. Even after breaking the stand, I thought we had managed to restrict them to a reasonable total. Unfortunately, we could not win in the end.”
Bangladesh’s coaching setup currently features several local coaches, with Mohammad Ashraful in charge of batting, Talha Jubair overseeing the pace bowlers and Ashiqur Rahman serving as fielding coach.
The team’s recent struggles have prompted criticism of the coaching staff, but Taskin defended the local coaches, arguing that appointing foreign coaches would not automatically transform Bangladesh’s fortunes.
“Whether they are local or foreign, the basic principles are the same. It is not as if everything will change overnight just because a foreign coach comes in,” he said.
“The local coaches we have are capable enough. They have played cricket at a good level themselves and are doing their coaching jobs well. But because we are so results-oriented, these things attract more attention when we lose. Local coaches face a lot of criticism after defeats, while they receive less praise when we win.”
Bangladesh were without captain Litton Das, who has been ruled out of the entire tri-series with a quadriceps injury, and all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who missed the Zimbabwe match because of fever.
Despite their absence, Taskin felt Bangladesh had enough quality to win the contest. He pointed to the batting-friendly conditions in Abu Dhabi, noting that Zimbabwe had demonstrated how to build substantial partnerships on the surface.
“Unfortunately, Miraz was unavailable because of fever. He is one of the key players in our ODI team. But the others who played are capable enough as well. Unfortunately, things did not work out for us today,” he said.
“You saw the Test against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi a few days ago, which went into the fifth day and ended in a draw. This is a wicket where runs can be scored. We could have built partnerships, and Zimbabwe showed that it was possible.”
Taskin also acknowledged Bangladesh’s tendency to collapse under pressure, saying the team must address the problem if it wants to establish itself among the stronger sides in international cricket.
“Sometimes, when we come under pressure as a team, we collapse very quickly. We need to get out of that habit. If we want to become a top team, we have to overcome this, whatever it takes,” he said.
“I am sure we are all working together to find ways to fix it quickly.”
Bangladesh will look to bounce back when they face Afghanistan on October 21 in their next match of the tri-nation series.
