Their country is in the midst of political upheaval, the cricket board is seemingly on its way out, and there are batting issues to grapple with; can Bangladesh find their voice?
Mohammad Isam18-Aug-2024If it wasn’t for the heavy security, Bangladesh’s cricketers would have been a common sight in the Islamabad-Rawalpindi metropolitan area. Bangladesh have two teams here – one preparing for the first Test at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium and the other, the Bangladesh A team, playing against Pakistan A in two four-day matches at the Islamabad Club. As Islamabad went into a Sunday siesta, the cricketers were out training in the heat of the two venues, located within a 10km radius of each other.It was a rare sensible move from the BCB to have the second-string team shadowing the seniors during a crucial Test tour. It could also be the last move made by the current BCB administration, who are, seemingly, on their way out. The cricketers, however, can’t afford to think about what’s happening at the BCB headquarters in Mirpur. Hard as it might be, they’ll also have to take their minds off the political turmoil and euphoria of the last four weeks back home, because they have a job to do in Rawalpindi.Six players from the Test side have already played in the Bangladesh A team’s first four-dayer. It wasn’t a great outing for the visitors, though. They have already suffered two injuries, with Mahmudul Hasan Joy ruled out of the first Test with a groin strain and Mushfiqur Rahim also picking up a finger injury during the game. There wasn’t much joy for the others either, except Nayeem Hasan who showed great fighting spirit with bat and ball.Related
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The offspinner bowled the most overs of any Bangladesh A bowler in their only innings in the field, finishing with a neat 1 for 88 from 23 overs. What may have enthused Bangladesh even more, however, was his 55 in the second innings. He played that innings after stepping in at No. 5 with the two injured batters ruled out of action on the fourth day. The tenacity he displayed over nearly two hours is exactly what Bangladesh might need in their Test series.The 24-year-old Nayeem is known to be a quiet personality. But he has often shown great presence of mind in the field. Many believe that he is under-utilised, having only played 10 Tests in the last six years. Nine of them have come at home. His only overseas Test appearance, in 2019, ended badly when he had to leave the field due to a concussion. He has, however, developed himself into Bangladesh’s back-up spin option with strong domestic performances, having taken 44 wickets at an average of 17.88 in the 2023-24 season.Nayeem Hasan expects a flat pitch in Rawalpindi and feels patience will be key for Bangladesh’s bowlers•AFPHaving played at the Islamabad Club and after Bangladesh’s first training session in Rawalpindi, Nayeem laid out what he felt would be the theme of this Test series.”From what I have observed here so far, it will be a game of patience,” Nayeem said. “We are going to play on good wickets. It will be relatively easier for batters. A straight bat can be hard to beat but we cannot panic. We have to hold our area. There’s generally not going to be any help for spinners. There will be turn from outside the stumps, so we have to force the batters to make mistakes. As much as we have to attack, we also have to protect.”Having observed how the Pakistan A fast bowlers had operated in the four-day game, Nayeem believes Bangladesh’s quicks could make an impact too.”Pakistan A bowlers reversed the ball. On both sides. They maintained the ball very well [in the four-day game]. Our fast bowlers have done well with the new ball in the recent past. They also know how to reverse the ball. We will all have to make them work hard for runs.”Bangladesh spin coach Mushtaq Ahmed imparts knowledge at a training session•BCBBangladesh’s bowling hasn’t been too much of a worry of late, but the same cannot be said about their batting. Zakir Hasan, Mushfiqur and Mominul Haque weren’t among the runs for Bangladesh A. Mahmudul scored a fifty in the first innings, but he is out injured. Shakib Al Hasan has played plenty of T20s recently, but not a lot of red-ball cricket, while captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and Litton Das must be itching to score runs after going through lean patches this year.Nayeem’s runs may have brought Bangladesh some solace, particularly since they could go in with a longish tail. Nayeem feels he has levelled up with the bat since the Bangladesh Tigers camp in Chattogram in July, which was disrupted by clashes between government forces and student protesters.”It was good to score some runs,” Nayeem said. “Like my bowling, I think my batting has also picked up since the Chittagong camp. I made runs against skillful bowlers, and all three of the fast bowlers are in their Test squad.”I have felt that my bowling has been in rhythm since the Chittagong camp. We played practice matches there. I feel that wickets are not important in these wickets in Pakistan. I must be more focused on bowling well. I have been working with [Bangladesh spin-bowling coach] Mushtaq [Ahmed] . It has been very rewarding working with him.”Bangladesh have two more days to prepare for the first Test, which begins on August 21. The second Test, too, has moved to Rawalpindi, which could play in the visitors’ favour. Bangladesh will know this neck of the woods, maybe not as well as the home side, but at least better than previous touring sides that have struggled to adapt to the pitches and conditions.
