The first Test match at Dhaka witnessed a nail-biting finish as the Tigers recorded a famous victory. However, there were negatives to the home side’s effort.
1. Imrul Kayes is not a number three
With Mominul Haque out of form and out of favour, the national selectors have given the number three slot to Imrul kayes, who is basically an opening batsman.
His scores of 0 and 2 at Dhaka suggest that the experiment is not working. In fact, in his last three Test innings, all in the number three position, he has contributed a grand total of two runs.
Imrul Kayes has always been an opening bat, and while he is yet to show his best in the Test arena (he averages just above 27), his record in the domestic cricket is much more impressive. Also, he has a good understanding with Tamim Iqbal – in April 2015, playing in front of his home crowd at Khulna, Kayes produced a career best effort of 150, sharing a 312-run opening stand with Tamim (206).
Kayes certainly has the temperament of an opener, and the selectors can only bring the best out of him by playing him in his favoured position.
Soumay Sarkar, who opened with Tamim at Dhaka, should move to the middle order, possibly at six. While he has excellent technique against fast bowling, and possesses a rich array of strokes, his temperament is questionable, as evidenced by his unnecessary rush of blood late on the second day.
2. Mominul Haque should be back at number three
Though Mominul Haque was eventually included in the 14-member team for the Dhaka Test, he didn’t make the playing XI.
It seemed very strange to ignore a batsman who averages over 46 in Tests. His recent from isn’t brilliant, but more than any other Bangladeshi top-order batsman, he looks comfortable in this arena. He looks one decent knock away from regaining his confidence.
He should play at Chittagong, where his Test record is highly impressive, and bat at the vital number three position.
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3. Sabbir Rahman is not a Test batsman
After seven Tests, Sabbir Rahman’s Test average is 29.33, mainly due to a couple of unbeaten fifties. He hasn’t scored a fifty in his last four Tests.
Batting at number four in the first innings, he was out for a duck, unable to handle the pace of Pat Cummins. Dropped down the order, he scored 22 from 36 balls in the second innings, with 2 fours and 1 six. It was entertaining while it lasted and given Bangladesh won by 20 runs, Sabbir fans might try to sell the idea that the runs he scored were vital.
But anyone who has watched the innings has to question himself whether it was a Test knock. My answer would be no. At the time of his dismissal, he was the last recognised batsman at the wicket and hence carried extra responsibilities. He wasn’t up to the task.
Sabbir’s T20 strike rate of 120-plus clearly indicates where his future lies.
4. The pacers remain largely unproven
Bangladesh picked two seamers for this match; left armer Mustafizur Rahman was joined by Shafiul Islam, making his Test return. Together they bowled 15 overs in the match, and only one in the second innings.
To begin with, Shafiul was a surprise pick. He is basically a swing bowler, who can move it in both directions, but no swing was evident at Dhaka. Possibly our selectors expected more cloud cover.
Shafiul dropped a simple catch but somewhat redeemed himself with some vital time at the wicket, scoring 13 and 9.
Over the last three years or so Bangladesh has built quite an impressive pace battery for the limited-over game. Unfortunately, we depend too heavily on Shakib Al Hasan for our Test success. This may work well at home, but I am worried about our pace attack for the tour to South Africa later in the month.
5. The young brigade is not firing
Shakib produced a man of the match effort for the umpteenth time in his career, Tamim scored 71 and 78, while Mushfiqur Rahim was unlucky to be run out after scoring 41 in the second innings and the collapse that followed his dismissal reiterates his importance to the side.
In direct contrast, most of the young brigade struggled and Bangladesh badly needs the Tiger cubs to find form at Chittagong.
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