by Abhai Sawkar It’s been quite a start to 2022 for the Tigers. After several fruitless tours to New Zealand, they unleashed one of their most memorable performances to score an away win against a strong Blackcaps side. This was a watershed moment without a doubt - with the introduction of a new coaching setup and excellent mentorship, it was the pace attack that delivered the crushing blow to take the early advantage. And even though the Kiwis fought back and squared the series, there was plenty for the buoyant, talented Bangladeshis to celebrate. This was followed up with a 2-1 ODI series victory in South Africa, which was also another first. Hardly in the space of a couple of months, this Bangladesh team entered rarefied air, as they already accomplished more than what their predecessors could have dreamed of. The Test series may not have gone well, but the positives weren’t few. A strong fightback from Mahmudul Hasan Joy in the first Test as well as an impassioned spell from Taijul Islam at the more spin-conducive Gqeberha showed evident signs of progress despite what the scoreline suggested. On that note, it’s great to have another fan-opinion chat with four passionate Bangladesh fans - Arnab Bhattacharya, Shah Rizwan, Musa Abid, and Kidwa Arif. It was fascinating to get detailed input about the current state of the team as well as the Test assignments that are in store for the immediate future. Abhai: Let’s begin this Fireside Chat with a few quick “fan profiles”. Where are each of you based and what got you into following Bangladesh cricket intently? Arnab: I’m from Sydney. Tamim's century at Lord’s in 2010 got me into following Bangladesh cricket. Shah: I’m based in NY. Cricket has been pretty much the only sport I regularly play and follow. In fact, I’m still playing in the local leagues. So it was a given that I was gonna watch Bangladesh matches, even when we lost 50+ consecutive ODIs. I didn't really need a reason. But in terms of an entertainer, I would say Mohammed Rafique was the first Bangladeshi player I would always wait to see in action. Musa: I’m based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. My first cricketing memory is Bangladesh beating India by 15 runs in the early to mid 2000s. I remember Mashrafe Mortaza taking the wicket of Virender Sehwag, and afterwards I remember Mohammed Rafique taking a Bangladeshi flag and running around the field to celebrate. That game got me hooked, and from then on I hardly ever missed any matches. Kidwa: I’m from Dhaka as well. My first cricket memory is Ashraful's century against Australia. I followed Bangladesh cricket very regularly starting from the 2007 world cup. I don't think I've missed a single match since then. While it started with Bangladesh's matches, I fell in love with the game soon after. Abhai: Let’s start things off with this first question: so we can address the elephant in the room later in this discussion but what all would you say Bangladesh did well during this Test series? Musa: That would definitely have to be the seam bowling in the first Test. Taskin Ahmed may not have gotten wickets but he bowled his heart out and maintained a good line and length. Khaled Ahmed did nicely to get a few wickets, and Ebadot Hossain at times was alright. It’s a massive thumbs up from me on this aspect, and it’s a step in the right direction. And of course, Mahmudul Hasan Joy's batting in the first innings of the first Test was impressive. And I’d say Shanto was decent as well. Shah: Plus Taijul is continuing to be the workhorse he has always been. Yeah, he had sort of a home track bully tag around him, but I hope that gets picked more in the upcoming away tours. Abhai: Let me zero in on the batting. Until the NZ tour, there were lots of question marks over how Bangladesh bats overseas. What do you feel was the key to making plenty of progress and what impressed you the most about Mahmudul in the first innings of the first test? Shah: Without a doubt, the concentration and patience, which is very rare among Bangladeshi batters. He consciously avoided playing risky shots even though he has the ability to play them, which we would eventually see in the later part of the innings. I believe he exploded just at the right time at the end of the innings and chip away at the deficit. He also had a chance to remain unbeaten and get that carry through, but didn’t pay much attention to that. He was focused on what the team needed. And regarding the batting as a whole, I'm still very concerned about how inconsistent the top order is. We’ve been way too dependent on Litton as of late. Had Litton made a big score in the second Test, we might have been able to provide a better fight, but that's not the way to go about. Top order batters need to be more consistent, especially Mominul and Shanto. Shanto got off to bright starts but keeps failing to convert them. Momiunul looks quite out-of-sorts and Shadman just didn't look like he was ready yet for this level, whenever he got the chances. Yasir has been batting well in patches but needs to play longer innings. Abhai: 5, 6, 2, 0, 37, 0, 13*, and 88. These are the skipper's last 8 innings starting with the most recent. Are you concerned about his current form? Why or why not? And can I get some general thoughts about his captaincy? Praise and constructive criticism are both welcome. Arnab: Personally, I’m not surprised, as Mominul always struggles in away conditions. I’m expecting him to get back into the runs when we play Sri Lanka next month. His captaincy has been very average, with little to no positive body language. There's no proactiveness at all in his leadership. It seems like he always waits for something to happen instead of making something happen. He lets the game flow and doesn't pump up his bowlers during high-pressure moments. Musa: Mominul is a sub-par leader though. I feel Mehidy Miraz could be a better shout or maybe Liton. Some of the decisions and things he said in the presser were shocking. Kidwa: Yes, it’s definitely concerning. He has never been good in foreign conditions. If we can pick bowlers based on conditions, we should apply the same logic with batters. And his captaincy has been bad for a long time. No one even knows why he was selected to be captain. I feel a guy like Miraz will potentially be a better option. Abhai: What's your reasoning behind advocating for Mehidy Hasan Miraz to become captain? I'm aware that he was captain during his U19 days but is that one of your reasons? Kidwa: Yes. He's also captained in BPL. He's young and will be a serviceable option for the long term. It's important to have a captain who can build the team over 6-7 years. His performance as an all-arounder has also been reliably decent. Abhai: Currently he bats at #8 in the Test team but in the long term do you feel he can move up a couple of positions? He currently averages around 20 in Tests but personally I do feel he has a higher capability ceiling than that. Arnab: More opportunities further up the order for Miraz will do him plenty of good. I’m not sure if he can bat in the top 4 but #5 or #6 would be fairer to his ability. Shah: When Mominul became captain it was not because he was the best option, but it was because he was the only option at that time. Of all the captains I have seen in the recent past , Tamim has been the best one, especially when it comes to field placing and bowling changes. I think he is the best choice for Tests at this point in time. Since he has given signs of cutting down on t20s, I am expecting him to play Tests for at least 3 more years. Miraz can be groomed better within this time frame as well. Abhai: Speaking of young players, who are some young batters - apart from Joy who’s obviously had a superb start - that you rate highly and why? And do you see them forcing their way into the Test scene anytime in the near future? Arnab: Towhid Hridoy is someone who's been highly touted for ages and Akbar Ali is a solid keeper whose batting is improving. I don’t think Akbar is in the frame for Test selection because Nurul Hasan is Litton’s backup in Tests. Hridoy might get the call, maybe if he has a big FC season soon. Abhai: What are the pitches like in the first-class scene? Is it generally very batting friendly or bowling friendly? Kidwa: I don't really follow domestic religiously but historically they've supported spin and are usually very low scoring. This is why you see so many left arm spinners coming out instead of leg spinners and Pacers. The clubs get easy results from SLA bowlers. Leg spinners are very risky. Seamers also do not yield as good results as SLA bowlers. Also, this is why our spinners aren’t big turners of the ball. Since they bowl in favorable pitches, they don't have to work hard to be effective. Arnab: Pretty much everything Kidwa has said. The biggest worry is leggies such as Zubair Hossain not being given an environment to thrive in. There was another promising youngster, Rishad Hossain who was a leggie similar to Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan but again not given the chance to develop. Abhai: Didn't Zubair's fitness deteriorate? I remember he bowled so well a few years ago in a Test match against India. And now he's barely even a starter in the domestic scene, right? Musa: Right, I saw a news report a while back that his form, fitness, and everything in between had massively declined. At that time, the reporter who was covering his story said that there is little to no chance of him making it back to the national team. Going back to the domestic pitches, the situation is getting better but generally it's awful. Either you’ll find spin-friendly dust bowls or roads. There’s nothing for the seam bowlers, though I’d like to think that it's improving. There were occasions a few years ago where in BKSP, bowlers would tamper the ball with blades and there would be no ramifications. Abhai: For example, when Khaled Ahmed first got picked for Tests he had pretty mediocre stats but things seem to be gradually improving especially with Ebadot doing well in NZ and consistently asking questions in SA. What do you feel is necessary to develop the current group of quicks into a much stronger pace attack? Arnab: I think Bangladesh needs to have different pitches across venues. For instance, Dhaka can be the turner. Chattogram can be a similar wicket to what we saw over in Mt. Maunganui. Sylhet can be the green top, and Bogra can be the Australian-style hard surface. Improving the quality of pitches and having a variety of them will ensure both batters and bowlers improve their game for Test cricket and are ready when called upon for national duty. Shah: We do have different conditions like you mentioned. But the BCB doesn't care enough to spread it out across these venues. Another issue is the size of the BKSP ground where many matches are played. It's way too small. Soumya scored a 200 rather easily during a 50-over game on this ground. I’m still not completely sold on Ebadot. In Mt. Maunganui, the bounce wasn't that high so the length balls were hitting the stumps and that's what suited him the most. In the next game where the bounce was higher, the same length deliveries were going over the stumps. Then he overcompensated by bowling full and ended up providing plenty of half volleys for the Blackcaps batters. He still needs to learn a lot about how to adjust and find the length quickly according to the wickets. When he gets the length right, he has the potential to be deadly in any conditions. But he has to be a bit smarter. Hopefully he will get there soon. Taskin Ahmed also had this similar flaw at the beginning of his career. Abhai: Thanks for all the input. Now, let’s segue to the home series against Sri Lanka. The Bangladesh squad got announced and it looks like Abu Jayed got dropped. And of course, there are two new faces - Shohidul Islam and Rejaur Rahman Raja. Can we get a lowdown on both newcomers? Shah: Raja hits the deck hard and has a high arm action. He also has the ability to extract extra bounce from a good length. Shohidul has a good slower delivery but mostly relies on variations. I believe he seems like a better fit for the shorter formats, and I’m not quite sure about Tests yet. But I think it was quite harsh to drop Abu Jayed without even giving him a game. Arnab: The reason they dropped him (Abu Jayed) is that unless we play tests in NZ or England, he might not have great success. Shohidul has a first-class ton, so he’s definitely able to bat down the order. I think he and Khaled Ahmed should be the two first-choice pacers at home. Ebadot’s approach won’t be suitable in Chattogram. As for Rejaur, I think he’s a handy medium-pace trundler but he’ll remain part of the squad and learn from Allan Donald. I find it highly unlikely that he’ll get game time. Shah: Finally, I want us to move from the tradition of preparing low and slow tracks at home and trust our pace attack. Hopefully we’ll see a sporting wicket with the seamers getting some movement early on and potentially a proper Day 4 / Day 5 wicket where the batters will struggle. And I want us to be in a position where we can make some tough decisions regarding our top order batting and captaincy in the tests.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
July 2023
Categories |