Simmons 'disappointed' by Australia whitewash

Bangladesh head coach Phil Simmons said on Sunday that it was "disappointing" to be swept 3-0 by Australia in the T20I series after a reasonable run in the format over the past two years.

Bangladesh played 11 T20I series and an Asia Cup during that period, winning six series and drawing another against New Zealand, their last T20I assignment before taking on Australia.

Australia dominated the series, with Bangladesh only putting up a meaningful fight in the second game, which they lost by seven runs.

"I think for us, the way we've been playing over the last couple of T20 series, this is a disappointing series," Simmons told reporters after their third loss in Chattogram.

"I think in the last game, even though we lost, I was still happy with the attitude both on the field and in the chase. To chase 190 here against an Australian team is always good, and to lose by seven runs is one thing. But in the first game and this game, especially with the batting, we haven't given anything to our bowlers to work with. So it's disappointing from that point of view," he said.

"I think our message from the start has not been about the series; rather, it's about how we want to play the game. Yes, we want to score and score quickly, but we also want to play according to the situation. If you're 0 for 2, which was disappointing today, it's difficult. But after that, we just gave away everything. What we've talked about a lot is responsibility when you're in the middle, and today there was no responsibility other than from the captain," he said.

Simmons admitted that Bangladesh missed Litton Das, who sat out the series with a muscle tear, but insisted others needed to take responsibility.

"You miss his batting; Litton is class. But again, what happens if he gets injured the day before a tournament? We still have to play properly and the batters still have to bat. The only person who showed today that the pressure didn't get to him was the captain," he said.

Simmons said Bangladesh have been working on improving their batting in the middle overs, a phase in which they struggled throughout the series.

"I think we have improved between overs seven and 15 because when I first came, that was the biggest issue. I think we have improved and the guys have been working on that a lot," said Simmons.

"I don't think it hampered us too much in the last couple of series, but in this series, especially today and in the first game, it was tough. In the second game, we fell back a little bit but still managed to keep up and come back in the last four overs. It has been a problem, but they've been working very hard on it," he said.

Simmons said Soumya Sarkar needed to make the most of his opportunities, while adding that Saif Hasan could not take his place for granted.

Soumya, who returned to T20Is after 18 months, scored 17 and 15 in the opening two games before being dropped for the third match. Saif, meanwhile, scored 63 runs in three games at an average of 21, including a 42 in the second T20I before throwing his wicket away.

"It's funny you should say that because that's what I keep telling everyone. When you're not in the team, you have to be ready so that when you come in, you can do what we need and stay there. That's been the message for everyone who hasn't played regularly. When you get the chance, you have to take it and hold on to it," Simmons said regarding Soumya.

"Saif showed what he can do in the second game. If he has to play, he has to play like that all the time. If you watch T20 cricket, you need that kind of start. We know Tamim is going to score and keep going, but we need Saif to play like he did in the second game," he added.

Simmons added that Abdul Gaffar should not be disheartened after being dropped for the third game following disappointing performances in the first two matches, insisting he remains part of Bangladesh's long-term plans.

"No, it's not a matter of seeing enough of him. We had five pacers here and we were trying to give everybody two games. When we do that, we try to stick to it, even though he didn't have a good game last time. But he is one that we look at for the future," said Simmons.

"It's not just about playing him in two games now; it's about continuing to play him regularly. Every series, we're going to try to see how much we can get out of him and, that way, he's going to keep learning. The whole project is not about now; it's about a year from now when we start preparing for 2028," he said.

"The purpose in every series is to win, right? But you also have to look at building things. We know what Taskin does. We know what Fiz does. We don't know what Rana can do because he hasn't played much T20 cricket. What we're trying to work on is finding a seamer who can bat as well. We see Saklain as that, we see Saifuddin as that, and the third one we had was Sakib, but Sakib was out for nearly the whole year. So now you have to start building things," he said.

"As I said, it's not just about this series or the next series. We want to win every series and we play to win, but you also have to look at building something for 2028, or 2027 whenever the Asia Cup is. Those are the big things you build towards. But you're still trying to win and prepare people," he said.

"If, in six or eight months' time, Taskin and Fiz decide they're not playing T20s anymore, or they get injured, you must have that backup. And if we don't play them now, when that time comes, we can't just throw them in," he concluded.