Strange selections kick off 2nd Test

The ongoing second Test in Mirpur is a high stakes match for both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka as the winner will win the series and get a much-needed boost after recent poor results. However, both camps started the crucial game by making strange selection decisions in the omissions of Mosaddek Hossain and Lakshan Sandakan.

Mosaddek, who missed four Tests because of an eye problem after his debut series in Sri Lanka in March 2016, did not do much as far as runs are concerned in the first Test in Chittagong but his eight off 53 balls on the fifth day when Bangladesh were fighting for a draw was an example of the longer-version temperament that persuaded the selectors to pick him in the first place. His cool head, along with skipper Mahmudullah Riyad's, at a time when it could have gone awry for Bangladesh -- 79 runs in front before tea and five down, with the two set batsmen back in the pavilion – more than made up for his rash shot in the first innings.

However, he was replaced by Sabbir Rahman -- a player who has displayed a distinct lack of Test temperament in his short career so far. He is also one who is currently serving out a six-month ban from domestic cricket for assaulting a 12-year-old spectator in a Bangladesh Cricket League match in Rajshahi, the latest in a long line of disciplinary indiscretions that raise questions about the player's fitness for an international match.

Also, it has to be asked what kind of message it sends to Mosaddek that even after doing exactly what was required for the good of the team he was replaced by someone who has rarely displayed that acumen.

In Sandakan's case, despite Lankan skipper Dinesh Chandimal singing the praises of the chinaman bowler as an attacking option on the eve of the Test, he was left out in favour of debutant off-spinner Akila Dananjaya.

Closer examination of Chandimal's words hint that Sri Lanka may have misread the Mirpur wicket, which turned out to be a raging turner as early as the first session of the Test.

"Sandakan is our wicket-taking bowler. If it is a good pitch, Rangana [Herath]and Dilruwan [Perera] can do a holding job. Sandakan can't do that holding job. I will bring him to take wickets, which is his role. We know that the Bangladesh batsmen didn't play him really well," Chandimal had said on Wednesday.

All his assertions were right. Although he has not taken many wickets against Bangladesh, the Tigers batsmen have displayed a distinct inability to read the wrist-spinner's googlies. Most importantly, the Mirpur strip is the perfect wicket for Sri Lanka's wicket-taking bowler.

Sri Lanka's decision can be explained away as a misreading of exactly how soon the pitch would start turning. Bangladesh's thinking, however, is anyone's guess.