Recovery on course

Opener Tamim Iqbal is all set to make his return to international cricket as the left-hander was included in Bangladesh's 15-member squad for the first two matches of the three-match ODI series against New Zealand in Mirpur, starting from September 21.

Liton Das will lead the team in the first two matches as regular skipper Shakib Al Hasan has been rested along with Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, and the pace trio of Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, and Shoriful Islam.

The former Bangladesh skipper Tamim recovered from his back injury to make a cut in the team ahead of the World Cup after he withdrew his decision to retire from international cricket in July.

Mahmudullah Riyad also got his name in the list after all the discussion regarding his future.

The right-hander was dropped following the ODIs against England at home last March due to poor performances and with his axing from the Asia Cup squad, the 37-year-old, already retired from Tests and T20Is, many left ponderings if he had already played his last game in Bangladesh colours.

Soumya Sarkar and Nurul Hasan Sohan also returned to the side. The uncapped players in the squad are left-hander Zakir Hasan, pacer Khaled Ahmed, and leg-spinner Rishad Hossain.

The National Selection Panel Chairman Minhajul Abedin said: "The decision to rest players was taken in consideration of the World Cup in India which will be a long tournament where ensuring the mental and physical fitness of the cricketers will be very important. The series against New Zealand provides us an opportunity to take a look at some other players as well ahead of this major event.

"The squad is a blend of experience and youth and only Zakir, Khaled and Rishad have not featured in ODIs yet. Zakir was very close to playing against Ireland in March before he suffered an unfortunate injury. Khaled has done well in his list A career and Rishad offers a different dimension to our bowling attack."

The Bangladesh team will commence training on 19 September at the SBNCS, Mirpur:

SQUAD (for 1st and 2nd ODI)

Liton Das (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah Riyad, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Sheikh Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Zakir Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Khaled Ahmed.

Captain Afeida Khandokar, forwards Mosammat Sagorika, Munki Akhter, Puja Das, and others looked calm and relaxed as they had a light practice session on the eve of the SAFF U-19 Women's Championship final against India today.

The girls certainly have reasons to be stress-free and relaxed as they stand on the verge of yet another triumph in the regional age-level women's football tournaments which were introduced for various age groups in 2017.

At the age level, Bangladesh lifted trophies a record four times, one more than today's opponents India. Bangladesh won all of those titles -- U-15, U-18, U-19, and U-20 -- at the Birshrestha Shaheed Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur which is also the venue for today's final.

Bangladesh are now set for their fifth final at home and expecting to keep their winning record intact. The fact that they have defeated India thrice in the final of the U-15, U-18, and U-19 championships also bodes well for the girls in red and green.

"Definitely, we will have some advantage playing on the ground where the girls train regularly," head coach Saiful Bari Titu was optimistic ahead of facing a strong India side. "The advantage will come into play if the girls can perform on this ground and know what they have to do tomorrow [Thursday]."

Titu, who took charge of the side following the departure of successful coach Golam Rabbani Choton, believes his charges are inspired enough to deliver the best.

"The girls have always been inspired because they became champions before too. The mentality of the girls is different than others and I think I don't need to motivate them much for the final because they know what they have to do in the final," said the experienced coach.

Captain Afeida was confident as well ahead of the all-important clash against India, a team they beat 1-0 in the group stage.

"We are not taking any extra pressure for the final because it will put us under pressure," Afieda said. "We have full belief in the hard work we did for this tournament and we will take to the ground with the belief of doing well."

Openers Liton Das and Tanzid Hasan Tamim broke a 24-year-old record as the duo starred in a 93-run opening stand -- the highest-ever opening partnership for Bangladesh in World Cups --  against India in Pune today.

A new opening record for Bangladesh in the ODI World Cup was made when Liton flicked a Shreyas Iyer delivery through square leg for a double in the 12th over as the duo of Liton and Tanzid surpassed the previous best of a 69-run opening stand between Mehrab Hossain Opi and Shahriar Hossain against Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup. The Tigers went on to clinch a historic 62-run win against Pakistan on that occasion. 

Bangladesh got off to a brilliant start today. Both Tanzid and Liton remained cautious in the beginning, scoring just 10 off the first five overs. However, the Bangladesh openers upped the ante in the next overs, dealing in boundaries and scoring at a rapid pace. 

Tanzid went on to pick up his maiden ODI fifty off 41 deliveries before being trapped in front off a Kuldeep Yadav delivery as his 43-ball 51-run knock came to an end. Liton remained unbeaten on 39 off 45 deliveries as Bangladesh reached 94 for the loss of one wicket after 15 overs.  

The tale of cricketers who had functioned as finishers in Bangladesh T20 cricket history is a short and painful one. To perceive the difficulty of Jaker Ali Anik's task, one would have to look no further than Mahmudullah Riyad.

Mahmudullah – who returned to the T20 side after playing his last match in the format in 2022 – had mostly batted in the Tigers' lower-middle-order over the years and had to endure being dropped, his role's execution questioned periodically.

It is a role that often wants impact, such as a quick-fire knock, but in Bangladesh's perspective, it is also one where a rescue act is often needed because the top-order had been prone to succumbing early -- much like what transpired in the first T20I against Sri Lanka in Sylhet on Monday when both Mahmudullah and Jaker's resurgence act went in vain in a three-run loss for the hosts.

Despite Jaker's 34-ball 68 against the tide, the batter-keeper will brace himself to deal with the impending uncertainty to keep his place in the side, as Mahmudullah did despite having had been a consistent performer.

Given how Jaker had been performing in the domestic circuit over the last couple of years, his Sylhet Division coach Rajin Saleh finds a few positives in Jaker's late inclusion to the squad and reckons that his qualities and domestic experience across all formats can prove beneficial for him and the team.

"As a coach, I don't feel that a player should come in after performing for a year in domestic cricket. When a player performs for three to four years in domestic, it becomes easier to manage international cricket. He performed consistently in domestic cricket, either BPL [Bangladesh Premier League] or DPL [Dhaka Premier League] for three years, and he came prepared to the Bangladesh team. He deserves it and now he is playing," Rajin told The Daily Star.

Even the recent performances for Comilla Victorians in BPL did not get him a place in the side. One would argue this was a lack of vision from the team's think-tank, especially in a T20 World Cup year, as there had been outcries over lack of power-hitting and players who fulfil roles as finishers.

Perhaps Comilla Victorians coach Mohammad Salahuddin's criticism over Jaker's exclusion from the T20 squad had led to a reversal after Aliss Al Islam's injury.

"Jaker playing was a lucky instant. Where was the backup in the middle-order slot?" Rajin echoed similar sentiments as Salahuddin.

"You need to give players freedom. With so few middle-order batters, where was the backup if someone was injured? I don't mind [having extra] pacers but you could have also kept [Mohammad] Saifuddin in consideration," said the former Bangladesh cricketer, who played 24 Tests and 43 ODIs during 2003-2008.

"Every position is difficult, but the toughest one is the lower-middle order positions at the death. It's about pressure and scoring in a few deliveries. Jaker had been performing in this position but I hope he is given time and allowed to free his wings. I know him, he is a coach's player and he will play in accordance with the coach's guidance. When I told him to hit in a certain manner, he would execute what I asked. The coach just has to talk to him openly," he added.

Jaker is a hard worker too, Rajin reminds. "I only talked to him about tactical things but not his technical side, like his hitting base or backlift. He has been working on improving these for two years because after he was dropped, he came and talked only about dedication. When he practices, he used to annoy us with how much practice he was doing."

Rajin feels a lack of nursing has had an effect on players coming in and then being dropped in the national side. But as Jaker eventually got in on luck, the road ahead will be tricky. Mahmudullah would know it pretty well for it is not a position where one clicks game after game.