Pacers still playing catch up
Cricket will have to come to grips with the new paradigms brought on by the coronavirus pandemic as the ban on saliva and use of substitutes ratified by the ICC yesterday. But the fast bowlers in Bangladesh, who appear ready to make the leap to the next level and enhance the country's cricketing status further, will need to undergo a more seminal change.
The versatile Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, now in the twilight of his career, has paved the way and the pace unit currently needs a mentor like him so that the likes of Mohammad Saifuddin, Abu Jayed Rahi and Ebadat Hossain can usher in an era of pace prowess following the exploits Mustafizur Rahman and Rubel Hossain.
Curiously, the Tigers, especially at home, are more reliant on their pace department in ODIs than in Tests, with the perception of the longer-version relatively spin-heavy. While it is an indication of the management's mindset, it is also an indication of the relative gap in experience and skillset of the Bangladesh pacers compared to those elsewhere.
What cannot be denied is that Bangladesh now have a number of capable pacers in their ranks that need to be worked on. Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal feels that it is time for pacers to be mentally prepared to do better on flat surfaces.
"A bowler who bowls well in Bangladesh is likely to succeed in England. I feel that if our pacers get more experience, we will be more competitive. The pacers will need to be mentally stronger and find a way to become good in these [home] conditions. If we talk about providing grassy wickets [at home], they will surely do well but they won't learn the art of bowling on flat wickets," he opined during an interview with The Daily Star.
Tamim used the country's most successful pacer, Mashrafe, as an example to reassert his point.
"If you think about Mashrafe bhai, he didn't play on grassy wickets a lot. He played mostly on flat wickets but he also knew how to bowl on those [grassy] wickets. We have a lot of talent at our disposal [in the pace department]. We lack some experience but if we can work on our strengths and weaknesses, I am sure we will become a good bowling side," he added.
How to then improve the pace department? When the question was posed to Mohammad Salahuddin, a mentor to many of the national team stars, he reiterated: "We have got quite a few pace bowlers now with pace and skill. I feel that they need to be separated from the rest and there should be a special programme for them. We should have a separate unit of just pacers."
"If you can't bowl at 140 kmph, it becomes difficult to bowl in Tests and survive. If we create a separate unit and train them, the bowling unit will be stronger and it will be hugely beneficial. We have some good prospects and arranging something like this is not a matter of spending a lot of money. There are lots of good coaches from abroad here now so it will be easy to do. It will ensure that focus is on each and every boy in the unit."
The idea of a pace unit that works together has been known to pay dividends worldwide. Not only will the individuals push each other, but the combined skillsets will develop them both individually and collectively. The only thing that matters now is whether such a programme will be developed and if people in charge and the drive of the players themselves. Going by current cricketing standards, it is an upgrade of immense necessity that the Tigers need to make.
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