Can Tigers step up in absence of Mashrafe?

Following the humiliating Test series defeat against West Indies, Bangladesh needed a boost of confidence ahead of the series-ending three-match T20I series. And it duly came in the form of a 2-1 series win in the ODIs, the format which the Tigers are most comfortable in.

The one undeniable factor that contributed greatly to Tigers' success in the fifty-over format in recent years is the leadership of Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, which was yet again evident in abundance in the Caribbean. It is not easy to lift a team shattered by such humbling defeats within a matter of days, which is what Mashrafe was able to do.

And what better way to motivate a team short of confidence than through leading by example? The 34-year-old got the early breakthroughs and kept things quiet with a tight line and length and intelligent variation of pace. He was rewarded for his guile and experience by becoming the top wicket-taker of the series (7) while averaging only 20.57. While he also proved his credentials with the bat, pushing himself up the order in the series decider to blast a 25-ball 36, it was his intelligent bowling changes, and ability to instil confidence in the players that paid the biggest dividends.

Bringing on Rubel Hossain for the penultimate over was a difficult choice, given the history of the bowler's lack of control in death overs in recent times. Mashrafe was shorthanded for options, but he knew all the same that if Rubel could get his deliveries close to the block hole, he would be hard to get away.

"If you look at today's match, Rubel [Hossain] did exactly what the team needed. We are improving in certain facets like this but now we have to ensure that we do it consistently," Mashrafe said.

While the skipper did not dwell on his decisions or on his own performance, he pointed out the lackings of the team, especially the failure of the youngsters to step up.

"Boys are in good touch so the juniors need to step up too," he said in the post-match presentation, referring to the youngsters' failure to shoulder some responsibility, before moving on to other areas of concern. "Overall, I think the fielding has to improve. At the same time there were things to improve in the batting and bowling departments as well."

Mashrafe might have been referring to ODIs in particular, but the same things apply to the shortest format as well. The Tigers showed signs of coming of age in the shortest format when they beat Sri Lanka twice in the Nidahas Trophy in March, only to lose the final against India in heartbreaking fashion. However, they soon proved that those performances were not signs of consistent improvement as they suffered a 3-0 series defeat against Afghanistan in India in June.

Whether this boost of confidence from the ODIs will transform to good showings in the T20I series is not a certainty though. Firstly because the Tigers will have to make do without Mashrafe and secondly because T20s are the West Indies' strongest suit.

There will be obvious changes in the Tigers' line-up for the T20s, some predetermined while some might happen in the aftermath of individual performances in the ODI series. More telling will be the changes in the opposition team, with impact players such as Samuel Badree, Andre Fletcher, Carlos Brathwaite and Denesh Ramdin likely to get in. It will certainly be a much tougher challenge than the one that was posed before the Tigers over the past week.

The onus now rests on Shakib Al Hasan to fill in the large boots of Mashrafe and on the youngsters to finally take more responsibility.