Circumstances force changes in combination
Circumstances ahead of Bangladesh's second and final Test against the West Indies, starting at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur today, stand in stark contrast to what they were ahead of the first Test in Chattogram.
The tables were turned drastically after Kyle Mayers hit an unbeaten double ton on Test debut to shellshock the hosts and snatch a win for the visitors in the port city. Whereas a win against a depleted Caribbean outfit was expected and almost seemingly taken for granted both by the media and players before the first Test, it now remains a matter of salvaging a series draw and helping instil faith and confidence into the shocked Tigers' camp with a win in the last of the two-match Test series.
Add the news of Shakib Al Hasan and Shadman Islam's absence through injury and the challenge of fielding a well-balanced XI in pursuit of Bangladesh's first World Test Championship points only become steeper.
Shakib, who suffered a thigh injury in the Chattogram Test, was ruled out of this Test while Shadman Islam, a first-choice opener in Tests, also failed to fully recover from a hip injury incurred as a result of an awkward fall while fielding on day four of the first Test. Soumya Sarkar was announced as the replacement for Shakib, but Bangladesh are yet to announce a replacement for the left-handed Shadman.
Skipper Mominul Haque said that he would not be thinking about Shakib's absence because he was trying to get the job done with the ones available for the game.
"It is not like the team, the world or the Bangladesh team would cease to function without Shakib bhai. When Shakib bhai was not around earlier and before his time, Bangladesh played, played well and won matches," Mominul said during the pre-match press conference yesterday
"It depends on how you take his absence. I had to play a number of series without Shakib bhai and here we only have one match left in the series. So I am not actually thinking about his absence. I am trying to keep that out of mind and prepare with the ones available."
When asked about the logic behind replacing Shakib with Soumya, who was not even in the 20-member preliminary Test squad for the series, the skipper made clear that it had to do with the left-armer's ability as an all-rounder.
It might be that instead of playing Soumya in the middle order in Shakib's role, he might be asked to open the innings. That might see Bangladesh opt for another front-line seamer alongside Mustafizur Rahman following the fuss that was created after the Tigers opted for just one seamer in Chattogram. In that case, regular Test choice Abu Jayed may get back in the eleven or Hasan Mahmud, who impressed during the three ODIs, could get the nod for today's match with Soumya playing the role of a third seamer.
With Bangladesh missing Shakib's spin, it is unlikely that they will drop any of the three other spinners -- Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam and Nayeem Hasan -- for the game as the Mirpur pitch has always assisted spinners from the early sessions of the game.
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