Time for the Bangladeshi Tigers to buck up

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim walks off the field following dismissal by Sri Lankan cricketer Dilruwan Perera during the fourth day of the first Test match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at the The Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on January 30, 2014.

Prior to the start of the first Test match against Sri Lanka at Mirpur, the atmosphere of Bangladesh cricket was crepuscular. The dark clouds were shrouding over Bangladesh’s Test future, and only a spirited performance by the Tigers on the field could have created a soothing effect.

The expectations were high regarding the Bangladesh cricket team as over the years, in white flannels, the Tigers’ overall performance had been satisfactory. But the fans’ expectations have now been heavily dented as the players put up a horrendous show against Sri Lanka in the just concluded Test match.

The Tigers must blame themselves for such an abysmal exhibition. The kind of intent which was much needed from them was missing. The batsmen were in limited-overs mode, the bowlers were devoid of focus, Mushfiqur Rahim’s captaincy was questionable, and the fielders looked dejected on the field. As a whole, the team looked perplexed.

First of all, the Bangladesh team management picked the wrong team. Bangladesh’s main weapon with the ball has always been spin bowling. But surprisingly, they picked up three pacers. Frankly speaking, with the exception of Mashrafe Mortaza, Bangladesh don’t have any quality pacers to test the opposition batsmen, and hence, it doesn’t make any sense selecting three seamers who are pretty inconsistent.

Mushfiqur has special affinity for operating with pacers, but you can only do so when you have quality pacers around. It’s always better to play according to your strength, and our pacers have never been our strength.

Secondly, both Mushfiqur’s and Shakib Al Hasan’s cry for sporting tracks have rather been an emotional one than logical. My heart also wishes for such tracks, but my brain makes me doubt whether our batsmen are accustomed to play on such tracks. In the domestic arena, our batsmen are more habituated to play on flat tracks. So, before playing Test cricket on tracks with bounce and carry, it’s very important to prepare such tracks in domestic cricket, and let the batsmen get used to it.

Bangladesh team management’s theory of picking up three seamers might have cropped up from the idea that the Mirpur track would be a sporting one. In my opinion, the call for sporting tracks in the subcontinent is nothing but a joke. They do show some encouragement in the first session of day one, but in the course of time, the tracks become slow, low or batting friendly. The Mirpur track behaved in exactly similar way. Shaminda Eranga did extract bounce from good length on the fourth day, but that is more to do with skills rather than help from the track.

Thirdly, Mushfiqur’s captaincy has not been praiseworthy. I did not understand why he used Sohag Gazi less on day 2. Gazi is a gritty customer and has that ability to fetch wickets when you need the most, and hence, he should have bowled with Shakib in tandem when the match was still alive.

But instead of using them in tandem, Mushfiq went for a pace-spin combination. While Shakib managed to keep things tight, the pacers simply hung his hard work out to dry. Even when Shakib gave an important breakthrough in the last session of day 2, the Bangladesh captain did not realise the importance of bringing in Gazi; instead, persisted with a pacer, who only relieved the pressure. When Mushfiqur finally brought Gazi into the attack in the dying moments of day 2, he picked up a wicket in the wink of an eye.

Mushfiqur is a very good batsman and has the ability to manage his men well. But when it comes to applying cricketing brain in the middle, he has not been a shrewd operator. More often, he takes his decisions based on emotions rather than applying cricketing logic – a captain mustn’t be that.

Finally, the way our batsmen batted simply made us all think whether it was indeed a Test match or a 50-over match. Not so long ago, these Bangladeshi batsmen were instrumental in denting the opposition bowlers’ psyche with enough resilience and methodical stroke-play, but in Mirpur, the batsmen were very rusty.

Tamim Iqbal’s horrible stroke in the second innings, Mominul’s half-hearted pull shot in the first innings and Shakib’s attempted slog-sweep after putting together a solid partnership only hinted how poorly our batsmen lack the temperament to play Test cricket. While occupying the crease was the order of the day, our batsmen continued to approach the game in one-day mode – an unacceptable attitude from a team who had shown considerable improvement since then.

Before the second Test match, Bangladesh have plenty of homework to do. They must not repeat the mistakes made in the first Test. We have learned well to save matches, but after playing Test cricket for fourteen years, thinking of drawing a Test match is not what you expect. As a fan, I wish our boys can bounce back in style.