Can the next-gen hurdle an old challenge?

A second-string New Zealand side, composed of players who will not make the cut for the Kiwis' squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, is set to visit Bangladesh for T20Is next month, with the Tigers in high spirits after successive series triumphs, including a first-ever bilateral series win over Australia.

Already favourites for the series, the only challenge Bangladesh must contend with is ensuring the young blood, who have displayed eye-catching performances in the previous two series, continue to perform.

The oft-mentioned pipeline of Bangladesh cricket seems to finally be bearing fruit, with the likes of Afif Hossain, Shoriful Islam and Shamim Hossain stepping up in recent outings and at times overshadowing the team's senior performers.

The absences of senior cricketers Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and first-choice opener Liton Das in the Australia series ended up as a blessing in disguise for the Tigers, who have long been looking for life beyond the few proven performers.

Afif's confident stroke-making, Shoriful's fiery spells and Shamim's marauding entrance into the international arena have instilled confidence and given rise to hopes of an auspicious future for Bangladesh cricket.

The focus now is on how long the youngsters can continue to perform. Will these youngsters turn into players that bring accolades to their country or will they disappear after showing glimpses of potential?

Over the years, many potential stars have fallen by the wayside after being touted as Bangladesh cricket's next big thing. The trend had genuinely started worrying the think-tank and fans, who wondered if there were players capable of taking the baton from the big four of Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah Riyad, all in their mid-30s and each with about 15 years of service to their country under their belt.

It is not that Bangladesh has not produced players with similar or greater potential than the big four in the past 15 years. In fact, more than a handful of players emerged with extraordinary promise in that time, but they never went beyond showing hints of glimpses.

Sabbir Rahman has faded to the periphery while the likes of Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das, Mohammad Mithun and Mosaddek Hossain have been struggling to establish themselves for the national team despite having international careers of more than five years.

Sabbir was so heavily backed by former skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza that it created a stir in the media when the BCB decided to cut his ban short to have the hard-hitting batsman available for the 2019 World Cup in England.

Another example of a talent blending into the background is Najmul Hossain Shanto. Although he came onto the international scene a few years after Soumya, Liton, Mithun or Mosaddek, Najmul was hyped as the next captain of the national team by some of the country's cricket experts. That made his hitting a snag all the more glaring, with the 22-year-old now only being considered for Tests.

The energy and zeal that Afif, Shamim, Shoriful have shown in the past few weeks were also observed when previous generations including the likes of Shanto, Soumya, Liton, Mithun, Mosaddek and Sabbir came onto the scene.

What is missing in each of their cases is consistency, a lack of which has seen some of them fall totally out of the selectors' consideration. Others have long been struggling to make a name for themselves and cement a place despite years and repeated opportunities.

Will the likes of Afif, Shamim and Shoriful crank it up a notch and elevate themselves to a level that their previous batches failed to reach despite no shortage of ability? For them, the coming New Zealand series could be the perfect platform to prove their consistency right before the T20 World Cup later this year in the UAE and with an eye on the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.

With senior players like Mushfiqur and Liton expected to return for the New Zealand series after missing the Australia series, the team management's job is to accommodate the youngsters in a way that inspires confidence. That, coupled with enough exposure, could see them flourish and take further steps towards becoming the next torchbearers of Bangladesh cricket.