Why can’t Bijoy score runs in Tests?

Out of former Bangladesh left-arm off-spinner Enamul Haque Moni and current Bangladesh Test team opener Anamul Haque Bijoy, who do you think averages more in Tests?

Without looking up the answer on Google, the educated guess would be the latter, the specialist batter, and not the off-spinner.

But perhaps the sarcastic tone of the question gives away the answer, as if the answer were this predictable, it would not be brought up to start a piece which dwells on why Bijoy, one of the most prolific run-scorers in first-class cricket in Bangladesh, can't seem to buy a run in the Test format.

Going back to the earlier question, the correct answer is Moni, who averages exactly 12 in 10 Tests for Bangladesh whereas Bijoy averages exactly 11 after seven Tests, which is nearly one fourth of what he averages in first-class cricket overall.

The latest chapter of Bijoy's woeful Test career was scripted on Friday, when the batter went out to open for Bangladesh in the second innings alongside Shadman Islam on the fourth day of the Galle Test against Sri Lanka.

The wicket was still barren, with very little on offer and the opposition bowling attack had very little venom.

Pacer Asitha Fernando opened the attack for Sri Lanka, a medium pacer whose speed remained fixed in the mid-120s and even with the shiny new ball, the right-armer could not extract any prodigious movement in the air or off the pitch.

After Shadman easily fended him away for a single in the first ball from a delivery that strayed down the leg side, Bijoy took strike.

Asitha kept missing his mark throughout the over, bowling too wide and just a tad too short, never really testing the fourth stump line.

But thankfully for Asitha, it didn't matter as Bijoy, who was batting on a pair after having nicked off for a duck against the same bowler in the earlier innings, was too anxious to make any of the opportunities count.

Bijoy middled the first ball he faced straight to the cover fielder, called for a quick single before refusing it in the same breath, nearly causing a run out at the non-striker's end.

In the five balls he faced in that over, Bijoy shuffled across the crease to completely cover his stumps multiple times, only to get beat in the third delivery by a ball that was comfortably in the sixth stump line.

In the fifth ball of the over, he also took a couple of steps forward to negate the minimum seam movement Asitha was extracting, a move he abandoned in the very next ball.

He managed to avoid the ignominy of getting out for a pair by taking a single off an inside edge against spinner Prabath Jayasuriya.

But his struggles at the middle ended soon enough, with him poking at a ball he could've left alone against Prabath and getting caught behind.

On a pitch where batters from both teams scored heavily, Bijoy's failure in both innings was a clear case of a batter failing to handle his nerves.

Facing off against a medium pacer like Asitha or off-spinner from Prabath should have been right up Bijoy's alley, as he has dominated against similar types of bowlers in Bangladesh's domestic scenes.

In first-class cricket, barring Tests, Bijoy has amassed 8904 runs in 213 outings at an impressive average of 45.66 and also has 34 centuries to his name.

But in Tests, the 32-year-old is yet to score a half-century, with his highest score being a very nervy 39 against Zimbabwe in Chattogram in April.

Seeing a player who regularly dominates in domestic four-day competitions like National Cricket League (NCL) and Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL), fare so poorly in Tests raises questions over the standard of the domestic scene.

But putting the blame of Bijoy's abysmal Test returns squarely on domestic cricket seems too simplistic of an explanation.

Although, there is clearly a sizable difference between the averages of Bangladesh batters in domestic first-class cricket and in Tests, for example, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mominul Haque average 49 and 44.13 respectively in four-day cricket while 37.37 and 37.27 respectively in Tests before the Galle Test, the disparity is not as large as it is in the case of Bijoy.

Another reasoning given behind Bijoy's poor stats is that he has never gotten a prolonged run in the format.

He made his Test debut in Galle against Sri Lanka back in 2013, played two more Tests that year and one in 2014, but then had to wait eight years to play his fifth Test before once again losing his place.

He returned to the Test XI against Zimbabwe in April and for the second time in his career got picked for a second consecutive Test when he was named as an opener for the Galle Test.

When it comes to getting a prolonged run in the Test side, Bijoy has not been fortunate. However, in all of the opportunities he has gotten so far, he has never really looked the part, prompting the management to try out other options in his place, who performed better.

Bijoy's career trajectory in the longest format maybe tragic, but it's not unique. In the history of first-class cricket, there have been batters who were absolute giants in the domestic circuit, but could never make it big in the Test arena.

Whether it is someone like England's Mark Ramprakash, who averaged over 57.53 in first-class cricket but 27.32 in Tests or India's Amol Muzumdar, who despite scoring over 11000 runs in first-class cricket at an average of 48.13 never even got to play a Test, not everyone is destined to shine in the Test arena. And the way Bijoy's career has progressed till now, he is on his way to joining this list.

There are technical flaws in Bijoy's technique, which have stayed with him throughout his career. But players with even glaring weaknesses have come up with ways of scoring runs and carved out a respectable Test career for themselves.

But at 32 years of age, time is running out for him to turn around his career. At the moment, it's uncertain whether he would even get to play in the following Test.

If not, Bijoy may have written the epitaph of his Test career in the same place it had begun, which would sadly be the only remarkable thing about his time in Tests.