A choice by default
When selectors picked Shahadat Hossain for Bangladesh's first Test against Zimbabwe last week, analysts, journalists and even a number of cricket enthusiasts seemed to have had a brain freeze momentarily.
Why would Bangladesh's selectors recall a bowler whom the think-tank had written off 19 months ago after a dreadful series against Sri Lanka? Is it his current domestic record? Not quite.
Shahadat has played a total of ten first-class matches since he was dropped from the national squad in March last year.
He scalped eleven wickets in the Bangladesh Cricket League which finished earlier this year. While in the National Cricket League he picked 16 in five matches. His statistics are ordinary when compared to the likes of other pacers such as Sajedul Islam, Delwar Hossain, Shuvasish Roy, all of whom had taken more wickets than the 28-year-old.
Shahadat, according to chief selector Faruque Ahmed's official statement, was picked ahead of Robiul Islam as the player's fitness levels had
'improved' in the last two years. While Faruque's statement may be true, Shahadat has been working hard on a pace bowler's fitness programme in the BCB's academy for the last year, the reality though is a tad cruel.
Rather than his own performance, Shahadat owes his return to the lack of pacers being produced in Bangladesh's cricket, which in turn have compelled selectors to stick to a cycle.
And that cycle, in the last five years, has seen the selectors juggle between Shafiul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Shahadat and Robiul. With Robiul out of the picture, the selectors had no one else to go to.
“It's a sad situation,” admitted Faruque. “Who else do we take? We are not confident about the other bowlers in the domestic circuit. And the ones that have impressed are battling injuries. We are looking at Taskin Ahmed for the future. Abul is another bowler who remains uncertain because of his injuries,” explained Faruque.
Al-Amin Hossain is the latest addition to this cycle. The youngster, in fact, is currently the most favoured. In the Test against Sri Lanka in February this year, the Tigers had fielded him in a one-man pace attack. The over-dependence on the 24-year-old however, has had a toll on him; he broke down during the last Test against the West Indies.
Whether Shahadat manages to weave his magic in the Zimbabwe series or not, the very fact that he has been selected once again displays the brittle scenario of Bangladesh's pace bowling pipeline. The root cause of which lies in the domestic circuit and has repeatedly been pointed out by various cricketers.
Captain of Dhaka Division Mohammad Sharif, after guiding his side to the NCL championship last year, criticised the organisers. “Bangladesh will never be able to produce a good pacer as long as we play on dead wickets,” he had said.
Tigers' bowling coach Heath Streak pointed out that the difference in the volume of overs bowled by pacers in domestic and international cricket was the main reason why Bangladesh's pacers get injured so frequently. “You can't expect them to bowl 30 overs in international cricket when they only get to bowl eight or ten in domestic tournaments,” the Zimbabwean said in an interview last month.
In the end it seems as though the move that initially caused a brain freeze was in fact the only possible option available for the selectors. What remains to be seen now though is whether the lanky Shahadat can use this opportunity to restart his career.
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