Can Shakib reunite Tigers?
Bangladesh will be hoping for a better outcome after a 21-run defeat to Pakistan in the first game of the tri-nation series as regular skipper Shakib Al Hasan takes over the side in their clash against hosts New Zealand in Christchurch today.
Shakib -- who had initially missed the photo session with the other captains on Wednesday after being delayed by two days due to 'complicacies with visa procedure' -- was 'rested' by the team management for the tournament opener against Pakistan.
Led by Nurul Hasan Sohan, Bangladesh were able to restrict Pakistan to 167 for five but the Tigers were unable to grab the opportunity. Eventually, Bangladesh reached 146 for eight in 20 overs.
There were questions regarding Shakib's involvement as captain, such as the need to engage with the team more, especially as they hope for a better result in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in Australia later this month.
"Compared to the preparation we took at home and in the UAE, there is nothing wrong with playing in a franchise league. If three or four of our players had played such leagues, it would have been better for the team. But we expected Shakib to join the team in New Zealand well before the [tri-nation] series. He could sit with the team and talk, train together and play matches to try and erase whatever happened in the past and only focus on the coming days," Nazmul Abedeen Fahim told The Daily Star yesterday.
"Maybe he maintained communication in different ways but obviously his physical presence has a different value. The players feel elevated by his presence. Let's hope he make up for it as a player and a leader. As a leader it is important to keep the morale of the team high and spend more time with the team."
Meanwhile, the Tigers think-tank continued to experiment with makeshift openers Mehedi Hasan Miraz and Sabbir Rahman, but things remain unchanged.
It will be important for Shakib and the team management to ensure better planning with lingering questions over the makeshift opening pair as well as the need to form a settled playing eleven ahead of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup later this month in Australia.
"From the start of this tournament, I felt we might have given a chance to someone else in the opening position. I feel if you are not a proper batsman, it is always difficult to score consistently against such bowlers in those conditions. And if you observe closely, you can see that openers play proper cricketing shots. Many feel that T20 cricket is all about playing on the up, but that is wrong.
"Obviously Miraz is very confident and that might help him play his shots but Sabbir is losing confidence. I think Liton can be a good option for the opening position since he plays well in white-ball cricket. He can open the innings with Miraz and Shakib can come in at number three. Afif Hossain can bat at number four, I have observed some changes in his batting and noticed he is trying to anchor the innings," he said.
According to Fahim, the vulnerable opening pair and fragile lower-middle order is putting more pressure on the top and middle order.
"We had two makeshift openers in Miraz and Sabbir and they have been failing. We have seen Taskin Ahmed coming in at number eight, which means we have a fragile opening and the lower order. We might feel that we are playing with seven batters but we technically have only five batters in the team," said Fahim.
With less than a month to go until the T20 World Cup, Fahim opined the Tigers could take a lot from the ongoing tri-nation series. He added that it was too late to experiment.
"We were not totally outplayed in the first game. At one point when Liton and Afif were batting, it seemed we could even win and reach that stage I think that's something positive. I am hoping the team will be more organised because it's too late to experiment," he concluded.
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