Stars of 2016 reduced to bit part roles

The last and only time that the Asia Cup followed the T20 format was in 2016 and after over six years, the upcoming 15th edition of the continental tournament is once again set to be played in the UAE from August 27 in the shortest format.

While it would have been ideal for Bangladesh -- who had played the final in that edition and made a major statement in the format for the first time -- to have a settled T20 side and grow their riches in the shortest format since then, the case has been the opposite.

Not only have Bangladesh, in T20s especially, gone into a downward spiral since that tournament but most of the players who had shown glimpses and performed in that edition of the Asia Cup are either out of the national set-up or have just barely made it into the team.

Sabbir Rahman falls into the latter category. The right-handed batter was adjudged player of the tournament six years ago for ending as its highest-run getter. Sabbir had amassed a total of 176 runs at an average of 44 and 123.94 strike rate from five matches. He even surpassed India's Virat Kohli in that edition.

However, had it not been for the long list of injury concerns in the Bangladesh side at the moment and the eternally clogged pipeline, Sabbir would probably just be another mere spectator, watching Bangladesh play in the Asia Cup from his living room.

Even Bangladesh team director Khaled Mahmud Sujon admitted that there was not any solid logic behind Sabbir's inclusion.

"If you are looking for strong cricketing logic behind Sabbir's call-up, there isn't any. So why did we include Sabbir in the [Asia Cup] squad? We included him because of the harsh reality that we [BCB] are facing currently," Mahmud said.

Injuries forcing Nurul Hasan Sohan, Liton Das and Yasir Ali out of the squad and an apparent lack of options available for the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) are part of the 'harsh reality' that Mahmud alluded to.

But while Sabbir could still barely make it back into the squad courtesy of that 'harsh reality', crucial members of the 2016 Asia Cup squad including the likes of Mohammad Mithun, Soumya Sarkar and Al-Amin Hossain -- who ended the 2016 edition as the top-wicket taker with 11 scalps to his name from five matches -- remain by the wayside due to inconsistency. Soumya was briefly in consideration for the Asia Cup but he too has not been around the national set-up for a while now.

Meanwhile, Mithun, who last played for the national side back in 2021, has now been put in charge of the Bangladesh 'A' side for their ongoing tour of the Caribbean.

Like Sabbir, all these aforementioned players may get back into the national side in the future and chances are that that would be owing to the lack of depth in the pipeline instead of their own merit. If that happens, who is to be blamed? Is it the board that has failed to enrich the pipeline with fresh prospects or the players who see themselves in and out of the national set up due to lack of consistency?

Whatever it is, it appears that the 'harsh reality' that Mahmud had talked about has actually been part of Bangladesh cricket for a while now, with little emphasis placed on remedying the situation.