Getaway, but no escape

Bangladesh have shared the Test series against Sri Lanka. They also shared the ODI series against the Lankans.

And today the Tigers will get an opportunity to make it truly a shared series on the Lankan soil provided that they show tenacity in the second and final T20 international at the R Premadasa Stadium.

To achieve that the Tigers are already motivated enough at least to give a fitting farewell to their inspirational captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, who will walk in the middle to play his final T20I. Bangladesh lost the first T20I by six wickets at the same venue on Tuesday, the day when Mashrafe announced his retirement from the shortest format of the game.

The 34-year-old took two wickets in that game but his effort was not enough to prevent a big defeat in a format which has been the weak-link for the Tigers. They got a start despite losing opener Tamim Iqbal early. But their inability to construct a T20 innings was once again exposed after the dismissal of Sabbir Rahman – who was undone by a brilliant direct hit.

His dismissal not only dried up the runs but also sparked a collapse that effectively dashed Bangladesh's hopes of putting up a big total on a wicket where 180 is a par score.

However, this is also a series where Bangladesh have showed their ability to bounce back. They won the second Test in style after losing the first one. They also won the first ODI with a clinical performance, which is something they would want to repeat to complete what is already a satisfying away series.

Bangladesh might go for a slight change in the final T20 but the game will be definitely remembered as Mashrafe's one last hurrah. He had won the player-of-the-match award on his T20 debut against Zimbabwe at Khulna on November 28, 2006.

His pace might have slowed down considerably and his hard-hitting exploits might have diminished, but one thing he still guarantees standing on those bad legs is the unbridled passion to fight till the end. 

Bangladesh's Test temperament is often a cause for debate when looking at some of the batters' approach in the longest format. Liton Das came under fire in the recent Sri Lanka series for charging a fast bowler when the team was already in trouble. This time too in Kanpur, barring one or two innings, the level of Test temperament needed to survive in international cricket was missing from the Tigers.

Four of Bangladesh's top six are solely Test-oriented. Openers Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam are only playing red-ball cricket, while Mominul Haque is considered a Test specialist. Late in his career, Mushfiqur Rahim too will be keen to focus on Tests rather than ODIs.

The rest, especially ones like Shakib Al Hasan or Liton, are white-ball stars who have made their presence felt. Liton was punching the deliveries with ease in Bangladesh's first innings in Kanpur. Then two slips were taken off, limiting his scoring opportunities at mid-off and mid-wicket, both fielders positioned close to make their presence felt. Test matches may not have scoreboard pressure, but the pressure of the actual scenario -- of not finding a different avenue to score -- led Liton to charge down the wicket, trying to clear mid-off, only to be caught brilliantly by India captain Rohit Sharma.

The faith to maintain focus on defence, and the ability to grind it out, were tools that were lacking. Liton, in that sense, applied his T20 know-how to try to apply pressure, but departed at an ill-opportune moment.

India can afford to unleash the likes of Rishabh Pant on any bowling attack and unsettle them, but it is the assuredness provided by players like Shubman Gill or Virat Kohli, along with a host of other names, that allows the current best team in the world to be tactically flexible to match scenarios.

Shadman's 50 or Mominul's hundred in the Kanpur Test show more can be done with shot selection, but asking players to contribute in all formats can be a deterrent to developing the right players.

Head coach Chandika Hathurusingha pointed out that Bangladesh are improving as a side, but to improve further, a deeper pool of Test players will be required.

"Only this group shouldn't improve. This is the top. We need to improve what's underneath. We cannot expect to perform if we don't have a foundation or system in place," Hathurusingha said at yesterday's press conference, regarding how to improve and compete against a quality team like India's.

Test cricket may be changing, with batting styles from other formats sometimes blurring the lines between formats, but the essence of it remains distinct. Whether attacking or defending, there must be assuredness in shot selection.

"Not that we haven't improved. We have improved lately, and we are competing with other teams. India have completely gone to another level. It is not just their first eleven, but there's competition for places. Their system, including their facilities, has improved out of sight. That's what we are learning," he said about the overall development of the game.

There are many waiting in the wings, for instance, Shahadat Hossain Dipu or Mahmudul Hasan Joy. The remuneration has improved in Test cricket, leading more players to choose Tests over other formats. However, to build the required pool, groundwork is needed, starting from school cricket to domestic tournaments.

So, the next time the argument is made about why Test cricketers are not getting exposure in franchise Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), it should also be noted that varying styles can hinder technique and temperament.

As successful as this tour of Sri Lanka by the Bangladesh cricket team has been, it has also been one marred by off-field controversies and more than a little cloak-and-dagger.

At various stages, manoeuvrings behind the scenes, which have barely ever stayed behind the scenes, have taken a life of its own as it tumbled through the media machine. There has been one constant in all of these off-field distractions -- Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan.  

The latest has been Mashrafe Bin Mortaza's retirement from the T20I format. Hassan yesterday took his well-worn place behind the microphones to address the issue and as usual, assumed a central role. “I had a meeting with Mashrafe, Tamim [Iqbal], Mushfiqur [Rahim] and Shakib [Al Hasan] day before yesterday [Monday night]," Hassan told reporters at the Taj Samudra hotel in Colombo yesterday morning. "I told them that they had such a contribution to the nation's cricket that barring a disciplinary issue, no one, not me, not anyone could drop them. They would have to make their own exit plans.”

Despite his proclamations that he only knew that Mashrafe would step down and was unaware of his plan to retire, the mention of 'exit plans' is something that might raise eyebrows. It has been learnt that the meeting mentioned above was not altogether savoury, and to avoid adding to the innuendo let it just be said that the whole matter could have been handled better when it came to dealing with a cricketer of Mashrafe's standing.

One has to wonder if someone like Mashrafe, who has lifted the country's cricket from the depths of despair in 2014, has to endure an unsavoury retirement from a format, what message this sends to even other senior players, not to mention juniors.

“It is more than what he is as a player. I made him captain in 2014, and he did not even play the previous year. I made him captain because there is something extra in him,” these words of Hassan may seem like praise for Mashrafe, but as far as pattern of behaviour goes, it also seems like Hassan taking credit for the decision to promote Mashrafe and the successes that it brought. One can imagine that it is not something that a proud player like Mashrafe would be happy to hear. 

Inserting himself into the middle of team dynamics is something that Hassan has been doing for a while, and it has happened a lot during this tour. He did it with Mahmudullah Riyad's exclusion from the team for the second Test, and also with Mehedi Hasan Miraz's eleventh hour inclusion into the ODI squad.

It will be difficult to name another board president in cricket who involves himself to this extent in the running of the team. “I would have gone home today [Wednesday] if we won yesterday, but since we lost I have to stay behind,” Hassan said before the press conference started.

He was more than ready to answer the rumour that has been doing the rounds that Shakib Al Hasan was to be captain in the T20Is. He denied that, saying that if Mashrafe had decided to quit before the second T20I, then Shakib as vice-captain would have had to lead by default. He also strongly denied the rumour that there was a plan to jettison seniors like Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim from the format.

Before that, however, he also said that there were plans afoot to keep separate teams with separate captains with four or five specialists in each format, something that he added could not be enforced because there are performers in the team who could not be removed.

Both of those cannot be true; if plans were afoot to have separate teams with separate captains, then Mashrafe could not have been the captain of choice in either ODIs or T20Is. If specialists were the order of the day, then some seniors, not just Mashrafe, would have to fall by the wayside. It is in such contradictions that Hassan has often dealt.

Hassan has overseen the convolution of the selection process to an extent that the captain was excluded from the decision and the team manager made his representative. He then went on to have major public and private say behind each decision. The public part is the problem. If decisions like bringing new players into a format are made, then it should be discussed behind closed doors and the change should follow a process, preferably not one that involves the board president making contradictory statements to the media.

“I told the coach not to disturb the team now, and to make a parallel team of developing players,” Hassan squeezed that in to the conversation. It undermines the coach, the captain, the seniors and also the equilibrium of the side. The most unfortunate thing is that it is coming from the highest official in Bangladesh cricket. 

It was in April 2015 when the two teams last met in 50-over cricket and Bangladesh simply knocked Pakistan out to whitewash them in the three-match ODI series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.

When they meet at Edgbaston today, that memory might not have any relevance considering the fact that they are simply going to play a warm-up match where a team can even field all fifteen members. However, Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed said yesterday during an official press conference ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy that both teams would want to win.

"Over the past one-and-a-half years, Bangladesh have performed very well. The warm-up game is a good opportunity for both teams before the Champions Trophy. Both teams want to win so it's a good practice match to have. Over the past few years they've done well and we'll see its batsmen, like Tamim Iqbal, if we play in the semifinals," said Sarfraz.

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza also stressed the significance of the match, saying it would be an important step to adjusting with the conditions.

"The practice match tomorrow is important. We played in Ireland and the conditions and weather seem totally different after coming here. So we have to adjust through these two [practice] matches so we can be ready before the important matches arrive," said Mashrafe during a press conference yesterday.

The Bangladesh skipper rated his opponents highly, saying they would be one of the contenders for the trophy.

"You never know. If you go by the history of Pakistan they are always a big side. In this sort of tournament the big sides are always under pressure. My gut feeling is that they are a very good side and they can destroy any team. So yes they have a very good chance in this tournament," he opined.

Bangladesh had a good tri-series in Ireland where most of the batsmen got runs and the bowlers did decent job, but ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was off-colour with the bat and he may take the chance in the warm-up game to get back among runs.

The Tigers will play their second and final warm-up match against India on May 30 at the Kennington Oval, where they will also play their first group match against England on June 1.

Bangladesh pacer Khaled Ahmed replaced Taskin Ahmed in the 15-member squad for the second Test against South Africa, scheduled to start on October 29, at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram. 

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) made the announcement of the only change in the squad on Thursday evening. 

"Taskin hasn't been dropped. We have a long list of international matches coming up in the next few months. The break will give him some time to rest and he can also start preparing for the upcoming series," selector Hannan Sarkar told the Daily Star over phone on Thursday.

Khaled, who claimed four wickets for 61 runs during Sylhet Division's opening round National Cricket League 2024-25 match against Dhaka Division in Khulna, was dropped for the opening Test against the Proteas after a poor display in the Kanpur Test against India in September. Meanwhile, Taskin wasn't included in the playing eleven of the first South Africa Test as the Tigers opted to go with Hasan Mahmud - the only pacer in the starting lineup -alongside three spinners.

The Tigers lost the contest by seven wickets on Day 4 in Mirpur today.

Bangladesh squad will travel to Chattogram on October 26 for the final match of the series. 

Squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Shadman Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Jaker Ali Anik, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana, Hasan Murad and Khaled Ahmed.