While Bangladesh's football team is having a lot of success, the cricket team is getting more and more bad reviews.  A shocking loss in a Test match at home to Zimbabwe, which many fans saw coming, has brought up more worries.  People were losing interest in the Sylhet Test, as shown by the empty seats.

Speaking ahead of the second Test in Chattogram, Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batter Jaker Ali Anik openly acknowledged the reality: winning back supporters will require better performances on the field.

In Saturday’s (April 26) pre-match press conference, Jaker said, "We must perform well. There's no alternative to good performance. That will be the focus for all of us."

He also addressed whether Bangladesh cricket is in decline following a series of underwhelming displays, "Since some senior players are moving on, it’s natural that younger players will need some time to adjust. In my opinion, with time, we will recover."

The Sylhet defeat was particularly painful, considering Zimbabwe's lower ranking. Jaker believes the batting failures were the biggest reason behind the loss, "Losing is possible against any team. What's important is sticking to our processes, no matter who the opponent is. I think we struggled mainly because our batting was poor — especially in terms of shot selection. Bowlers often win you matches, but we can't expect that every time."

When asked why Bangladesh often struggles against so-called "smaller teams," Jaker was refreshingly candid, "We lose because we make mistakes — it’s as simple as that. Since the first Test result didn't go our way, we had some honest discussions after the match. The focus is clearly on improving our batting. In most cases, it's our batting that lets us down."