Bangladesh cricket in 20th century

In 1977, Bangladesh became an Associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Bangladesh was one of fifteen teams to take part in the inaugural ICC Trophy. Held in 1979, it gave non-Test playing countries the opportunity to qualify for that year's World Cup. Bangladesh, under the captaincy of Raqibul Hasan, Bangladesh won two matches and lost two, but failed to progress beyond the first round. Victory in the South-East Asian Cricket Conference Tournament in February 1984 ensured Bangladesh qualified for the 1986 Asia Cup. On 31 March 1986, Bangladesh played their first One Day International against a full member of the ICC;Captained by Gazi Ashraf, Bangladesh were dismissed for 94 and Pakistan reached their target for victory with seven wickets in hand.They lost their second ODI which was against Sri Lanka, finishing last in the three-team tournament.Bangladesh qualified for the 1988 Asia Cup, this time hosting the tournament; it was the first time ODIs had been staged in the country. Although they lost all their matches, Bangladesh's fixtures were retrospectively awarded ODI. Floods in the preceding months meant the tournament was in doubt, however it went ahead as planned. A charity match raised $70,000 for the flood victims.

Bangladesh took part in the 1990 Austral-Asia Cup,the Asia Cup in 1990–91, 1995,and 1997, but it was not until 1998 that they won their first ODI. Their 22-match losing streak since their first ODI was at the time a record. Bangladesh posted its first ODI win against Kenya in India thanks largely to Mohammad Rafique, who contributed a fiery 77 runs and took 3 wickets. In October 1998, Bangladesh hosted (but did not participate in) the first ever ICC KnockOut Trophy (which later became the ICC Champions Trophy), a knock-out ODI tournament featuring all the Test playing nations.

Bangladesh took part in each of the 1982, 1986, 1990, and 1994 editions of the ICC Trophy, and won the trophy in 1997, in the process qualifying for the 1999 World Cup. Bangladesh also became a regular ICC member with the right to play ODIs. Earlier, in February Dhaka hosted the third and final SAARC cricket tournament. Bangladesh played in its first World Cup in England. The Tigers created an enormous upset by beating Pakistan by 62 runs in the group match at Northampton. Bangladesh made 9/223 from its full 50 overs, and in reply Pakistan could only manage 161 due to timely run-outs by wicketkeeper Khaled Mashud and some tight bowling by Khaled Mahmud, who took 3/31 from 10 overs. Mahmud was judged man of the match. Bangladesh did not qualify for the Super Six round due to defeats in three of its five matches. However, the win over Pakistan, which became eventual runners-up to Australia in that tournament, helped Bangladesh to gain Test playing status the following year. The morning of the match, Bangladesh had sacked their coach Gordon Greenidge.

The West Indies toured Bangladesh in October, winning both matches in the ODI series.After suffering a stroke in April 2000, Barlow vacated the position of coach.In May and June 2000, Bangladesh hosted the Asia Cup; Bangladesh lost all three of their matches and when playing Pakistan succumbed to what at the time was the heaviest defeat in ODIs, a margin of 233 runs.Bangladesh participated in the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy in October; their only match ended in defeat to England. Former South Africa Test cricketer Eddie Barlow became Bangladesh's coach in 1999.