It has just taken a couple of Test matches for the Bangladesh Test squad to come crashing down to earth.
They had, in recent times, shown that they were no more the mere pushovers in cricket's longest form. Since April 2015, they have managed to draw series, all at home, against India, South Africa, England and Australia, while they also secured a historic first Test win against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka.
Now, on the back of two comprehensive thrashings in South Africa, both on pitches far from being typical South African tracks laden with pace and bounce, Bangladesh are back to having question marks hovering over their heads.
The biggest questions mark seems to be hanging over incumbent Test captain Mushfiqur Rahim. Rahim won the toss twice in South Africa and both times, astonishingly, elected to field first when conditions begged for the opposite. Not surprisingly, the results were heavily in the hosts' favour. They declared at 496 for 3 in the first game at Potchefstroom before winning the game by 333 runs, while in Bloemfontein, they amassed 573 for 4 declared and won by an innings and 254 runs in under three days.
The results were results of some sub-par Bangladesh performances, but could perhaps have been, to an extent, averted if Rahim had taken the right call at the toss.
The gaffes were something Rahim himself identified, and accepted the blame for. He even went as far as asking for a chance to right the wrongs he'd made in the series.
"The blame is coming at me because I decided to field first in both Tests. Maybe I haven't been leading properly and that's why the team isn't doing well," Rahim said on October 8. "This is why I am saying that I should be given opportunity to correct my mistakes."
But whether there will be another opportunity for Rahim remains to be seen as it all looks but certain that he is on the verge of bidding adieu to captaincy.
Rahim hasn't been a stranger to pressure or to problems as Bangladesh captain.
He made the first blunder when he publicly criticized former national selection committee chief Faruk Ahmed for ignoring him while selecting the squad for the Asia Cup in February 2014. It was the beginning of his troubled journey. It did not take long to for BCB to discover that Rahim was lacking in his leadership qualities in guiding Bangladesh in the shorter formats.
Rahim had paid the price with BCB terminating his reign as the limited overs captain earlier than scheduled. His term was to go on until the 2015 World Cup, but it was cut short and Bangladesh adopted dual captaincy.
Chandika Hathurusingha's arrival only made things worse for Rahim soon after.
Rahim probably expected some backing from the Sri Lankan but it was not the case as he and the team management desperately needed someone else to take over. Mashrafe Mortaza's impact as captain was solid, with Bangladesh qualifying for the World Cup quarterfinals and also winning successive bilateral series against Pakistan, India and South Africa.
In contrast, Rahim could not lead such a transformation in the longer version. It did not help either that Bangladesh faced long layoffs. When Bangladesh played England in October 2016, they were playing a Test after a 14-month break.
Before going into the break, Bangladesh, however, had started to deliver consistent performances in the Test arena. They had won three Tests in eight games, drawing four and losing only once. But luck did play its part, with rain being a constant during their series against India and South Africa.
When England came home, Bangladesh managed a historic first Test win, and they carried on to win in Sri Lanka as well. However, things inside the dressing room were far from rosy.
Ahead of the Test series against Sri Lanka, criticism had grown louder after Rahim's blunder behind the stumps, a missed stumping that let Wriddhiman Saha off the hook and eventually get a hundred, in the one-match Test series against India at Hyderabad. In the same series, his ability to lead the.