Areas in focus as Tigers return in whites
The recent ODI series against the West Indies marked Bangladesh's returned to international cricket after a gap of over 10 months, and the focus then was on new beginnings and long-term plans. Similarly, Mominul Haque and his troops will make a return to the longest format today with the first Test against the same opponents, and the skipper will hope for a new beginning here too, as there is a lot of room for improvement.
Although the Tigers are a strong unit at home, where they utilise spin-friendly conditions well, head coach Russell Domingo and the team management would want to adopt a better-rounded approach.
The Daily Star attempts to assess the areas to work on for the Tigers in red-ball cricket.
STABILITY IN THE OPENING STAND
Bangladesh fielded three different opening pairs in their last five Tests but none seemed a settled option. The experienced Tamim Iqbal will have to take the responsibility but it is still not confirmed who his opening partner will be against the West Indies. Young right-hander Saif Hasan opened in the last two Tests, including his debut match against Pakistan last year, but is yet to make a mark with the bat. Left-hander Shadman Islam, who has impressed with his ability to stay at the wicket for long periods, is also making a comeback to the side after recovering from a wrist injury.
It will be important for the Tigers to settle on a stable opening stand which would be a big improvement from the recent past. The 39-run stand between Tamim and Saif against Pakistan in the second innings of the Rawalpindi Test last year is Bangladesh's highest opening stand in the last five Tests. The vulnerability in the opening position can be gauged by the stands in their last nine innings -- 18, 3, 39, 12, 10, 15, 0, 0 and 30.
SPECIALIST FIELDERS AT CATCHING POSITIONS
Having specialist fielders at catching positions has always paid dividends for top Test teams, but Bangladesh have been found wanting in this regard. It requires special skill for fielders at slip, gully and short-leg positions where focus and concentration play a key role. The Tigers are yet to have a specialist slip fielder. Soumya Sarkar and Mohammad Mithun have been seen at slips in the past. However, it will be interesting to see whether these two cricketers eventually make it to the playing 11, which at the moment seems unlikely. With that in mind, the coaching staff will have to groom a few other options for those crucial positions.
FORMING A BALANCED BOWLING UNIT
The pitch at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram has always been a batter's paradise with an average first innings total of 370 runs. The last time Bangladesh played a Test at this venue was against Afghanistan in 2019. They did not field any specialist pacer in the line-up and prepared a tailor-made pitch for the four spinners -- Shakib Al Hasan, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan and Mehedi Hasan Miraz.
But the ploy backfired as Afghan leg-spinner Rashid Khan turned the tables and the visitors went on to register a thumping 224-run win. Bangladesh head coach Domingo had already hinted that the hosts would not go with an all-out pace attack, meaning the Tigers will once again opt for the spin-heavy strategy. However, the team management will be wary of the past record and it will be interesting to see how many seamers Bangladesh opt for this time around.