When at war, kill or be killed: Mushfiqur

Bangladesh's star batter Mushfiqur Rahim has hinted that he was forced to retire from T20I format. The 36-year-old veteran had retired from T20Is on September 4, 2022 following the Asia Cup in UAE, just ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia that year.

Mushfiqur came to the press conference yesterday following Fortune Barishal's six-wicket win over Rangpur Riders in Qualifier 2 of the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League, but a few questions had to be skipped due to lack of time. When this reporter along with a few other members of the media caught up with Mushfiqur after the press conference had ended, Mushfiqur added a twist to his retirement story.

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"Do you regret retiring from T20Is?" the veteran was asked.

Mushfiqur's reply was short. "No".

Asked whether being in the kind of form he has been, whether there was regret, he said: "No, what's there to regret? (smiles)".

Asked about his game sense that has been once again out there to see, he suggested that he did not retire from T20Is voluntarily.

"You are saying this [about game sense] after I played well. No one said that before (smiles).

"I only want one question. Did I retire from T20s? Did I do it on my own will? That's all I have to say. That time when I retired in T20s, just look at the month before that, that's all I have to say," Mushfiqur told members of the media.

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The objection was clear in his voice, he did not feel his T20I retirement was his own choice.

Barishal had been criticised for having many senior stars in the lineup. Mushfiqur had also been asked at the press conference whether such criticism motivated the side, but Mushfiqur said it just felt bad.

"No actually it does not motivate me. I feel bad. Because right now if you bring a lot of young players in front of me, I am certain they won't be anywhere near my level of fitness. I can write that down. I think instead of seeing age and performance, bigger factor is fitness and performance. Age is just a number," he said at the press conference, while also using England's James Anderson as an example.

Mushfiqur is now the fifth-highest run-getter this BPL with 367 runs at an average of 33.36 and he ensured that he can add to that run tally after helping Fortune Barishal make the BPL final with an unbeaten 38-ball 47 yesterday against Rangpur Riders.

He has once again been reliable in the middle-order, showing tremendous stroke-play during a 39-ball 68 against Khulna Tigers or a 44-ball 63 against Comilla Victorians earlier during the tournament. A fifty against Sylhet Strikers also came during a crucial point for his franchise.

The veteran once again showed his knack for building an innings during a slightly tricky chase against Rangpur yesterday. His work ethic is exemplary but the bigger question is whether he was forced to retire from the format despite feeling he had more to give.

Veteran batter Mushfiqur Rahim has been ruled out of the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka due to a fractured right thumb, chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu confirmed The Daily Star today.

"Mushfiqur Rahim fractured his right thumb during the third ODI against Sri Lanka. We can confirm he is out of the Test series. We will inform about the details of his injury and the likely replacement in time," Lipu said. 

The wicketkeeper-batter got hurt on his right thumb while gathering a delivery behind the stumps in the second over of the Sri Lanka innings, bowled by Taskin Ahmed.

The 36-year-old kept wickets for the whole innings and took four catches. He then went on to score an unbeaten 37, including the winning runs as Bangladesh won the series 2-1. 

"After the match, Mushfiqur underwent an X-ray examination in Dhaka, which revealed an avulsion fracture on the MIP joint of his right thumb.
"He is currently undergoing conservative management for his injury and is expected to be sidelined for around three to four weeks, consequently ruling him out of participation in the Test series against Sri Lanka," BCB physio Bayjedul Islam Khan was quoted as saying in a press release.

The first Test begins in Sylhet on March 22 while the second Test will get underway in Chattogram on March 29. Both Tests are part of the World Test Championship. 

Sarfraz Ahmed, the Pakistan captain, took the blame for his team's poor show at the Asia Cup, but said that there's time to rebuild the team for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

A convincing eight-wicket win over Hong Kong in the tournament opener suggested Pakistan were going to be a force. But it was followed by an eight-wicket defeat to India, and then, following a last-over win over Afghanistan in the Super Fours, losses to India and Bangladesh. As a result, Pakistan crashed out of the tournament they have won twice in the past.

"Yes, our performance was very poor. Our batting wasn't good, and we dropped a lot of catches. Our bowling was also patchy, and that's the reason we are out of the tournament," accepted Ahmed, who had a poor run with the bat himself, scoring 68 runs in four innings.

"I still believe we have a lot of talented players in the team. Look at Fakhar Zaman. Though he didn't have a good tournament, we have to back him. Babar Azam too. Imam has, thankfully, done well, but there's also Shadab and Hasan. We have to back them and take them along with us. We have to look at our bench too. We have a pool of players, and by the time the World Cup comes, we'll have a good team," said Ahmed.

"The World Cup is quite some time away, we have other engagements before that. Australia are coming, and then there's New Zealand. So we have to review our performance and see where we are falling short.

"We are losing too many wickets early, and the middle order has had to deal with the new ball, which isn't easy, and hitting quickly in the end isn't easy on these pitches. We'll have to get together and fix these issues."

While Ahmed called the performance 'alarming', he added, "There's no need to press the panic button. Yes, we have made mistakes as a team, and as a captain, I know that I didn't do well. But no need to panic, we need to back the players, look at the positions and see if there are people outside the team who can come in."

The morning of September 29 must have broken with some harsh light for the Bangladesh cricketers in Dubai and their loyal fans back home. It was much the same on March 23, 2012, when the Asia Cup final against Pakistan was lost in the final ball in Mirpur the night before. But as time wore on in 2012, the pain of defeat gave way to a feeling of accomplishment born from the feeling that Bangladesh cricket had finally broken through and had defeated all but one of their more celebrated neighbours before falling at the final hurdle.

On Friday night, the pain of failure at the final hurdle in the final ball -- this time against India -- haunted the cricketers and cricket lovers once again. Like 2012, this pain too shall pass but there will be a different sense of accomplishment from Asia Cup 2018.

Defeating Sri Lanka in the opener, then Afghanistan and Pakistan in must-win games may sound par for the course for the team fans have come to know since 2012. However, winning two of those matches without talismanic opener Tamim Iqbal and the one against Pakistan without both Tamim and ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is not something that would have been expected. Making the final in the kind of heat they had never experienced before and doing it with setbacks that would have crippled Bangladesh sides of the past marks a new level.

To accomplish that, young players who were part of the support cast -- Liton Das and Mohammad Mithun -- and those who were leaders in waiting but often seemed to need a helping hand -- Mustafizur Rahman and Mehedi Hasan Miraz -- came to the fore. That, and the tremendous fighting spirit shown by the Tigers throughout the two-week long event -- not least in taking India's chase of 222 down to the final ball on Friday -- will be Bangladesh's biggest takeaway.

"Everyone may think about the 2012 Asia Cup final, but I see it a little differently," Bangladesh opener Tamim had said on September 13, two days before the tournament opener against Sri Lanka in Dubai. "The 2012 Asia Cup was the tournament where we first got the belief that we could beat any team -- that we could be competitive.

"I remember that; not my four fifties or how we lost the final by two runs. I remember how we played as a team and beat teams that no one would have thought we could beat. We beat India and Sri Lanka, and lost two very competitive matches against Pakistan."

Little did Tamim know then that it was his injury two days later, which forced him to fly out of the Asia Cup and back home, that would contribute to this tournament being remembered as the next big step for Bangladesh after 2012.

Since 2012, Bangladesh's graph has trended upward, with occasional dips. But a common feature of that rise has been the people doing the heavy lifting. Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad have been the five cricketers who have worked wonders for Bangladesh cricket over much of the last decade.

But this Asia Cup was a departure from the norm because the Bangladesh team do not often do well with setbacks, especially when they have to fight with those setbacks against oppositions perceived to be superior. That happened in this tournament too -- losing the last group game against Afghanistan and the first Super Four match against India in abject fashion were a function of them struggling to overcome the setbacks of losing Tamim, scheduling confusions and having to play three matches in four days in 40-plus degree heat.

The recovery, and the architects of the recovery, will be the source of inspiration for future campaigns. While it is true that there was magical captaincy from Mashrafe, he still had to rely on opener Imrul Kayes to fly in on Saturday night and score a match-winning fifty against Afghanistan on Sunday from number six, rescuing the side in partnership with Mahmudullah from 87 for five. Faced with non-performing opening pairs, Mashrafe took the wildcard decision to open with number eight batsman Mehedi in the final, but the youngster still had to show the courage to be a part of a 120-run opening stand with a sublime Liton. For his part, Liton was the one who had to repay his captain's continued faith, and he did so with a maiden century in the most important game of the tournament.

Mushfiqur was Bangladesh's best batsman in the tournament with scores of 144 in the opening game and 99 against Pakistan. In both those innings, however, Mithun was an indispensable foil with innings of 63 and 60 in century-plus partnerships that rescued Bangladesh from top-order collapses. 

In each of Bangladesh's three wins in the tournament, someone other than the Big Five stepped up and took responsibility. The bowlers, led by Mashrafe, Mustafizur and Mehedi, were consistent throughout and the spirited fielding was the flag-bearer of the team's never-say-die spirit.

 "The positives depend on the individuals. I think losing to India twice was something that I didn't desire. When Shakib and Tamim are back, the team will do well in the future if we can hold on to this spirit," Mashrafe said after the match.

There will certainly be heartbroken fans who will rue another missed opportunity, another last-ball failure. But this tournament showed that the ingredients long craved for outside the Big Five are very much present and the work in progress is waiting for completion with the return of the two big stalwarts.

The takeaway from this latest heartbreak is that it will just be a matter of time before bittersweet gives way to unadulterated joy.

Against Pakistan, Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan posted his highest score in the ongoing World Cup, which only highlighted how far the all-rounder has fallen from the incredible form with the bat he enjoyed in the previous edition of the competition.

The tournament he had in 2019 is the kind any player would dream of having at least once in cricket's most coveted event.

Nothing about Shakib's incredible run in the England World Cup was a fluke. He batted at number three in that edition, specifically asking the team management to let him bat at that elevated position and came into the tournament having done his homework.

Despite many of his team mates' struggles during the tournament, Shakib appeared to be in a zone of his own, scoring 606 runs at the tournament at an average of over 86 with two tons and five fifties.

This World Cup has been a far cry from his performances in 2019. So far, Shakib has scored just 104 runs in six innings at an average of just 17.33.

The difference in form is also apparent from the way he has been playing the short balls in this edition compared to the one four years back.

In 2019, he was getting well on top of the bouncers and looked mostly in control against them. But this year, he has gotten out to rising deliveries multiple times.

Yesterday at Kolkata's Eden Garden, Shakib came in at number six following the 79-run stand between Liton Das and Mahmudullah Riyad, the latter pushed further up the order due to his consistency.

Bangladesh needed another partnership to build on from the previous one and then kick on in the final overs.

But Shakib was too cautious and he seemingly couldn't find a way to rotate the strike as it took nine deliveries to open his account.

He scored 20 off his first 44 deliveries and while Mahmudullah had reached his fifty at a brisk pace, Shakib's confidence level appeared to be at the opposite spectrum.

"Of course the match situation was such that if he had gotten out then, the match would go out of hand since there was a chance to get at least 250," Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, who worked with Shakib when the all-rounder came to Bangladesh mid-tournament , told The Daily Star yesterday

"It was noticeable that he was very aware of his form. He seemed low on confidence. Maybe he wanted to see the ball better but usually it [head position] isn't like that," he added.

Shakib grinded at the middle for 64 balls, scoring 43 runs thanks to the hat-trick of boundaries he hit against Iftikhar Ahmed in the 37th over.

But right as it seemed Shakib was returning to his old self, he fell to a short delivery, trying to hook Haris Rauf.

Against the pacer, there was a noticeable change in his stance as he was facing towards mid-on, which is unusual for him.

Fahim feels that the weight of captaincy may be weighing down on Shakib and hurting his batting.

"Captaincy is always a headache since you don't get time to think about your own game, you think about the team's plans.

"When he faces a problem, he overcomes it quite quickly and gets out of the patch. This time it hasn't happened," Fahim said.