ICC U-19 World Cup: Bangladesh Eliminated, Final Match Against Zimbabwe a Dead Rubber

Bangladesh has been eliminated from the semi-final race in the ICC Men's Under-19 World Cup 2026. Bangladesh could only achieve a win against the USA in the tournament. They started off the tournament with a match against India, which they lost by 18 runs. Then, they played against New Zealand, which was abandoned due to rain, resulting in one point and a place in the Super Six group.

Bangladesh went on to win against the USA by 7 wickets, but lost to England in the first match of Super Six, knocking them out of the semi-final race. Their last match is against Zimbabwe on the 31st of January, but this match will not affect their semi-finals.

Even if Bangladesh wins its final match, it will only have three points, while Pakistan, England, and India have more points. India has six points in this group, England also has six points, while Pakistan has four points, and its final match is against India. Even if Pakistan defeats India, its chances of reaching the semi-finals are slim. Consequently, India and England appear to be the semi-finalists from Super Six Group 2.

Australia has already qualified from Super Six Group 1. The race for second place is ongoing between Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and the West Indies.

Bangladesh's poor performance in this tournament has led to its disqualification from the Super Six group. However, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has blamed the ICC for this. Bangladesh Cricket Board's Game Development Coordinator, Habibul Bashar, expressed concern about the Under-19 team's travel plans during the World Cup. He said, "There were flaws in our calculations, but the travel schedule before the matches against England and India is something I would like to share. Although people might think I'm making excuses."

He also said that to prevent players from getting tired before the match against India, the Bangladesh Cricket Board paid for the flights out of their own pocket, as the bus journey was very long and direct flights were few and far between. Bangladesh head coach Naved Nawaz and several players have also expressed concern about the schedule. The team had to travel from Harare to Bulawayo, a nearly nine-hour bus journey, before their first group match. The Bangladesh Cricket Board arranged flights on its own for the matches against India and New Zealand.

Habibul Bashar said, "The ICC abruptly changed the schedule just before the tournament, forcing the team to travel extensively and play in different locations. We even requested changes to our travel plans, but the ICC didn't listen to a single request."