Mahmudullah hails ‘brilliant’ Fizz

Bangladesh take on Australia in their first T20 World Cup Super 8 fixture at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Friday.

Highlights

*Australia have six wins to their name against Bangladesh's four in 10 T20Is. All four of the Tigers' victories came in Mirpur.

*Bangladesh have never beaten Australia in the T20 World Cup, losing in five meetings.

*Average first innings total at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium is 118. Pacers and spinners have had similar experiences at the venue as both have conceded runs at less than seven an over. In this T20 World Cup, however, spinners have conceded more, 8.45 runs an over, than pacers (7.74).

*Bangladesh pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib has taken seven wickets in the Powerplay, joint-most with Afghanistan Fazalhaq Farooqi for most scalps taken in the first six overs in the tournament. Meanwhile, Mustafizur Rahman's 67 dot balls is the joint-most in the group-stage of the tournament alongside New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson.

*At the batting front, Marcus Stoinis (10) and Travis Head (9) both are in the top five for most sixes hit in the edition so far. Towhid Hridoy is in the top 10 with six maximums.

*Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib, who will be on a hattrick whenever he comes to bowl against Australia, needs one wicket to become the first player to take 50 wickets in T20 World Cup history. He is also two wickets away from becoming only the second player after Tim Southee (164) to take 150 scalps in the format.

The tale of cricketers who had functioned as finishers in Bangladesh T20 cricket history is a short and painful one. To perceive the difficulty of Jaker Ali Anik's task, one would have to look no further than Mahmudullah Riyad.

Mahmudullah – who returned to the T20 side after playing his last match in the format in 2022 – had mostly batted in the Tigers' lower-middle-order over the years and had to endure being dropped, his role's execution questioned periodically.

It is a role that often wants impact, such as a quick-fire knock, but in Bangladesh's perspective, it is also one where a rescue act is often needed because the top-order had been prone to succumbing early -- much like what transpired in the first T20I against Sri Lanka in Sylhet on Monday when both Mahmudullah and Jaker's resurgence act went in vain in a three-run loss for the hosts.

Despite Jaker's 34-ball 68 against the tide, the batter-keeper will brace himself to deal with the impending uncertainty to keep his place in the side, as Mahmudullah did despite having had been a consistent performer.

Given how Jaker had been performing in the domestic circuit over the last couple of years, his Sylhet Division coach Rajin Saleh finds a few positives in Jaker's late inclusion to the squad and reckons that his qualities and domestic experience across all formats can prove beneficial for him and the team.

"As a coach, I don't feel that a player should come in after performing for a year in domestic cricket. When a player performs for three to four years in domestic, it becomes easier to manage international cricket. He performed consistently in domestic cricket, either BPL [Bangladesh Premier League] or DPL [Dhaka Premier League] for three years, and he came prepared to the Bangladesh team. He deserves it and now he is playing," Rajin told The Daily Star.

Even the recent performances for Comilla Victorians in BPL did not get him a place in the side. One would argue this was a lack of vision from the team's think-tank, especially in a T20 World Cup year, as there had been outcries over lack of power-hitting and players who fulfil roles as finishers.

Perhaps Comilla Victorians coach Mohammad Salahuddin's criticism over Jaker's exclusion from the T20 squad had led to a reversal after Aliss Al Islam's injury.

"Jaker playing was a lucky instant. Where was the backup in the middle-order slot?" Rajin echoed similar sentiments as Salahuddin.

"You need to give players freedom. With so few middle-order batters, where was the backup if someone was injured? I don't mind [having extra] pacers but you could have also kept [Mohammad] Saifuddin in consideration," said the former Bangladesh cricketer, who played 24 Tests and 43 ODIs during 2003-2008.

"Every position is difficult, but the toughest one is the lower-middle order positions at the death. It's about pressure and scoring in a few deliveries. Jaker had been performing in this position but I hope he is given time and allowed to free his wings. I know him, he is a coach's player and he will play in accordance with the coach's guidance. When I told him to hit in a certain manner, he would execute what I asked. The coach just has to talk to him openly," he added.

Jaker is a hard worker too, Rajin reminds. "I only talked to him about tactical things but not his technical side, like his hitting base or backlift. He has been working on improving these for two years because after he was dropped, he came and talked only about dedication. When he practices, he used to annoy us with how much practice he was doing."

Rajin feels a lack of nursing has had an effect on players coming in and then being dropped in the national side. But as Jaker eventually got in on luck, the road ahead will be tricky. Mahmudullah would know it pretty well for it is not a position where one clicks game after game.

Bangladesh will look to improve and get a victory against Afghanistan in the second FIFA friendly match at the Bashundhara Kings Arena today, with the match kicking off 5:00pm.

The two sides are playing the FIFA friendly matches as preparation for October's pre-qualifiers of the World Cup and Asian Cup, and both teams are focused on fine-tuning their squads and finalising strategies.

The first match ended in a 1-1 draw with both sides creating a few of chances but none of them could take those home. Both sides were seemingly satisfied with sharing the spoils of a draw, but both coached want to end the two-match series on high note by winning the second match.

"We are in the process to prepare and improve as much as we can to play against Maldives and we need to do it which is a must. Obviously, we will be focusing on the improvement and hopefully winning the match too," Bangladesh coach Javier Cabrera told reporters.

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto hoped that the younger players perform well to honour two veterans – Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah Riyad, in the upcoming T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies.

There is speculation whether this will be the last World Cup appearance for either cricketer in a Bangladesh shirt, with Mahmudullah only returned to the squad after being omitted in the previous edition. Shakib, on the other hand, is the longest-serving cricketer currently active alongside Rohit Sharma of India, both of whom will be playing their ninth World Cups in the format.

When asked what to expect from the two players in this World Cup, during a pre-departure press conference at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Wednesday, Shanto had this to say:

"I don't know if it will be the last World Cup for them (Mahmudullah and Shakib), this is just a perception. But the young players like us will definitely want to give them some good memories since they have played for so long. This is definitely a responsibility of the young players."

Both Shakib and Mahmudullah are reaching the twilight of their careers, one being 37 and the other 38. Part of the Fab Five of Bangladesh cricket, they have seen two others of that group retire from the format and another one still unsure about his future with the national team. If this is indeed the last World Cup for the aforementioned two, Shanto wants one thing from them:

"We don't demand anything extra from Shakib bhai and Riyad bhai. If they perform as per their roles, team will definitely be benefitted. What we will want is that they spread their experience among the other players so that the small improvements can be made," the Bangladesh captain said.