Miraz stepping out of Shakib's shadow

About eight years ago, in 2016, the ICC Under-19 World Cup took place in Bangladesh. Before the tournament, the ICC released a series of promotional videos, each focusing on a promising young cricketer whom they earmarked as a potential 'Future Star'.

Some of the names featured in those videos, like English batter Dan Lawrence and South African all-rounder Wiaan Mulder, are yet to really make a mark in international cricket, while others, after bursting onto the scene, are now experiencing the lows of senior cricket, such as India's Ishan Kishan.

Bangladesh had a promising group of players in that U19 World Cup squad, with current national team skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto, wicketkeeper-batters Zakir Hasan, Jaker Ali, and all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin all in the mix.

But the player the ICC singled out as the 'Future Star' of Bangladesh cricket was Mehedi Hasan Miraz.

The video package on Miraz lasted a little over a minute, and as the clip ended, a statement with a question mark popped up on the screen, making it clear why the ICC had selected Miraz out of so many promising cricketers.

With Miraz on one side, looking awkward while trying to capture a selfie with two hands for some reason, the question popped up: 'The Next Shakib Al Hasan?'

At that time, the Tigers were enjoying their most successful spell in international cricket, having reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the first time the previous year and also winning home series against Pakistan, India, and South Africa on the trot.

The 'fab five' of Bangladesh cricket were at the peak of their abilities and instrumental in all the successes. The centrepiece of the five, however, was Shakib Al Hasan, the country's greatest-ever all-rounder.

So, in 2016 when Miraz -- a promising all-rounder who could bat in the middle-order and bowl off-spin, just like Shakib -- was set to lead Bangladesh in the U19 World Cup at home, comparisons between the two naturally began.

Miraz's star rose even higher after the tournament as, under his leadership, the young Tigers reached the semi-finals for the very first time, and he emerged as the player of the tournament.

As is often the case with most U19 starlets in Bangladesh, a swift promotion to the senior side followed for Miraz, who made his Test debut that very year and played a starring role in the monumental Test win over England, with a 12-wicket haul in only his second match.

But the honeymoon period ended soon enough, and his frailties as an all-rounder came to the fore.

In sports, young upstarts being compared with legends and then lambasted for falling short of the unrealistic expectations imposed on them is nothing new.

Fans expected that Miraz would turn out to be the mirror image of Shakib -- his right-handed version of sorts -- excelling with both bat and ball and becoming an inseparable part of the Bangladesh team in all three formats.

However, after spending a few years in international cricket, Miraz was downgraded -- at least in the eyes of the fans -- to an off-spinner who is great at home but struggles in away conditions, and who can bat a bit lower down the order but is a far cry from Shakib.

A comparison between Shakib and Miraz, eight years into both of their international careers, also shows stark differences.

Shakib, who debuted in 2006, had already led the side in all three formats by 2014, ascended to the top of the all-rounder rankings in all three formats, and had become the poster boy of Bangladesh cricket across the world.

Miraz, now 26, is also not a three-format player for Bangladesh. He had not been selected for this year's T20 World Cup, and his non-selection did not turn any heads.

In Miraz's stronger formats, Tests and ODIs, his bowling stats are quite similar to what Shakib's were eight years into his Bangladesh career. The right-arm off-spinner averages 32.72 and 34.85 in Tests and ODIs, respectively, whereas Shakib averaged 33.23 in Tests and 34.86 in ODIs.

However, in batting, Shakib was in a different class than Miraz after his first eight years with the Tigers. Shakib averaged 34.86 in ODIs and 36.07 in Tests by August 2014, which makes Miraz's current averages of 22.56 in Tests and 23.35 in ODIs look paltry in comparison.

The time has come to accept that Miraz won't end up as accomplished an all-rounder as Shakib when he hangs up his boots. But that doesn't mean he can't add value or win many games for the Tigers in the future.

Miraz's batting graph has been on the upward trend for a few years now. More often than not, he makes valuable contributions with the bat at No.8.

In fact, Miraz has been the leading run-getter at that position in Tests and ODIs since 2021, with 568 runs at an average of 29.89 in Tests and 432 runs at an average of 33.2 in the 50-over format.

Bangladesh saw the value of having him come into the middle after six down in both Tests against Pakistan in the recently concluded series in Rawalpindi.

He made 77 and formed a record 196-run stand with Mushfiqur Rahim in the first Test. In the following game, when the Tigers were six down for 26, he made 78 and forged a heroic 165-run stand with Liton Das to save Bangladesh from utter embarrassment.

He played his role with the ball as well, taking a four-for in the second innings of the first Test and a five-for in the first innings of the second Test, and was deservedly named player of the series.

In comparison to Miraz, Shakib had a poor series against Pakistan.

Miraz had been gaining ground on Shakib as the team's premier all-rounder in Tests and ODIs for a few years now, and the recent Pakistan series could prove to be the juncture that cricket historians later point to as the moment when Miraz eclipsed Shakib in the race, at least in the red-ball format.

Coming back to that 2016 clip, at one point, Miraz said, "I want to play cricket for 15 years and want to be ranked among the top all-rounders in the world."

The all-rounder is on track to fulfil both these goals, having already played eight years for Bangladesh and currently ranking seventh in Tests and ninth in ODIs among all-rounders. Not too shabby for an off-spinner who bats at No.8.