New faces for home series?
There has long been talk of blooding youngsters in the Bangladesh team for the long-term benefit and a stable management plan for the nation's cricket team. Now, it seems the chances of seeing some new faces in the upcoming one-off home Test against Afghanistan and a tri-nation T20I series featuring hosts Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe have increased as chief selector Minhajul Abedin hinted yesterday that they would be looking to blood some youngsters in the two series.
Star opener Tamim Iqbal had asked for a break from the two series and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) granted the request, further making the upcoming series the perfect opportunity to experiment and unearth future prospects.
"We had selected 36 players in the preliminary squad for the upcoming Test series against Afghanistan and the tri-nation series after that. After Tamim had asked for a break, we now a list of 35 players that we submitted to the board we will select the final squad for the upcoming series from that list," Minhajul to The Daily Star yesterday.
Tamim has been going through a lean patch as the left-hander carried his indifferent form from the World Cup in England that ended in July to the recently concluded three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka, where he could muster just 21 runs after being named the stand-in captain for the tour.
"When a player wants a break, you have to respect that. He must have some fatigue and some plan to overcome that, so you have to respect it. So far no other player has asked for a break."
In that, there may be a clue that Test and T20I skipper Shakib Al Hasan – who had asked for and been granted a break from the Sri Lanka ODIs – is likely to take the reins for the two series. Shakib returned to the country yesterday after performing Hajj.
The selectors have often opted for players who are past their prime with little left to offer when naming some last-minute replacements for regular players. 29-year-old pacer Shafiul Islam and 33-year-old all-rounder Forhad Reza were the most recent examples during the ODI series in Sri Lanka. Reza was included as Mashrafe Bin Mortaza's replacement while Shafiul was flown in to get some depth in the pace department. In the immediate aftermath of a disappointing World Cup campaign, it was thought that the series in Sri Lanka would have been the time to look to the future.
However, according to the chief selector, they may give the nod to a few new faces this time around.
"He [Tamim] is a proven player, so the absence of such a player will create opportunities for others. We have some promising candidates in HP [High Performance], so let's see what we can do with the upcoming players in this series," said chief selector Minhajul when asked about replacement options for Tamim.
This is the first time that the left-hander will miss a series for a reason other than injury. Bangladesh, who played just seven Tests without Tamim since his debut in January 2008, have used seven different openers but could only see a highest opening stand of 56 between Liton Das and Imrul Kayes in a Test against Zimbabwe in 2018.
Rookie opener Shadman Islam has impressed in three Tests so far, and it remains to be seen whether his partner at the top is a new name, or indeed if the selectors bite the bullet and offer a glimpse into the next generation.