Haha I think the significance of that fact doesn't really hit home sometimes. People have a lot of sympathy for the team and its fans, a lot of love for them as an underdog and a lot of hope that they'll one day be a competitive test side- because cricket doesn't really have enough sides that can beat each other. I spoke to a bunch of their supporters during the World T20, and they were genuinely the nicest fans you could ever imagine. Really friendly, great sense of fun and they'd follow their side to the end of the world.
But I still have to say that as far as test cricket goes, there are no positives. Barring Zimbabwe and the third-choice West Indies side, their record reads: Played 55, Lost 52, Drawn 3. Of those draws, only one- against the West Indies- was not heavily rain-affected.
I can't think of a sporting precedent. Is there ANY other team in any other major sport that has gone on such a prolonged losing streak? Even San Marino's soccer team beat Liechtenstein in 2004. Relative to the level at which they (try to) compete, does this make Bangladesh the worst international sporting team of all time? Surely, in any other sport, the administrators would show mercy to the team and relegate them to a less humiliating level. I'm happy to look to give credit to the underdogs, but there has to be a limit. How bad does a team have to be before people will say, "no, there are no positives, these guys are just awful." Isn't losing every single match you EVER play enough?
And look, it's not that I want Bangladesh to be horrendously bad. They just are. If Ireland lost their first 52 games in test cricket and people were saying, "ah, but they got themselves into a good position in that one match at home New Zealand before completely throwing it away and losing by three wickets", I'd be utterly humiliated.