OPINION
Follow UsNew Year’s Test against New Zealand at the Bay Oval, Bangladesh’s first innings. Time spent at the crease by Mehidy Hasan Miraz – 2 hours. Najmul Hasan Shanto – 2 hours and 40 minutes. Litton Das – 4 hours and 7 minutes. Mahmudul Hasan Joy – 4 hours and 52 minutes. Mominul Haque – 6 hours and 10 minutes. The visitors scored 458 as a result before Ebadot Hossain’s dream spell shot down World Test Champions New Zealand on home soil. Even before the sun rose in their part of the world, Bangladeshis were wide awake to celebrate an emphatic eight-wicket win.
That maiden overseas win should’ve breathed new life into Bangladesh’s Test cricket. But instead, they have lost five and drew one of the six Tests since.
In the recently-concluded first Test against West Indies, Bangladesh’s entire first innings lasted 5 hours and 15 minutes when they were all out for 103 at Antigua. They were able to battle for more than three sessions in the second innings, but it was mostly down to the resistance from captain Shakib al Hasan and keeper-batter Nural Hasan who put up 123 runs for the sixth wicket.
There was no sense of positivity that head coach Russell Domingo could reflect on.
“Batters are all low on confidence at the moment. Some of the big players Mominul, Shanto are low in confidence. In cricket, confidence is a big thing and at the moment they just don't have that confidence in their batting,” Domingo said after the fourth day’s play when the Windies were 35 runs away from the win.
When the coach names individuals in a press conference, it’s hard to say that the dressing room environment is either optimistic or hopeful.
Their technical issues against pace bowling have been brutally exposed in New Zealand, South Africa. Even at home, where pitches have been flat, Bangladesh were undone by Asitha Fernando and Kasun Rajitha who claimed 13 and 11 wickets respectively to take Sri Lanka to a series victory. Being able to leave balls outside the stumps line has been a struggle for Bangladesh batters and the problems were pronounced on a seaming track at Antigua.
Besides a couple of dismissals that were down to the bounce and movement of West Indies pacers, Bangladesh batters were suspect of gifting edges behind the wicket. Even experienced players like Mehidy Hasan and Tamim Iqbal went after deliveries that were drifting wide outside leg stump and ended up nicking them to the keeper.
Since the beginning of the 2021-23 WTC cycle, Bangladesh have the worst balls per wicket against pace (42.3). They have lost 106 wickets to fast bowlers in 17 innings which is 65% of their dismissals. Only England and India have lost more wickets to pacers, but those two have batted more than 20 innings.
Shakib had to be brutally honest as he assessed his team’s batting against West Indies. “I don't think we have many technically-sound players. Everyone has technical problems but they will have to find a way out by themselves - about how to stay at the wicket and score runs,” he said.
Then there’s the issue about Shakib himself. He was the automatic choice for the Test captain’s role back in 2009 and in 2018. But this time around, he was the only choice for the Bangladesh Cricket Board. The star allrounder has not been keen on playing in the Test whites, having missed 20 off the previous 39 matches and his commitment to play the format remains an uncertainty for the Board.
He had repeatedly sought NOCs to play in the foreign T20 leagues, but had sought breaks when it comes to fulfilling his international commitments. He was sure to miss the South Africa Tests in expectancy of an IPL bid, but agreed to play after a talk with BCB president Nazmul Hasan.
“We have a series against Zimbabwe after the West Indies. He may not be there. Other than this, he gave us a commitment he would play in all formats in future series, but it's difficult to say for how long Shakib will be leading the side,” Hasan said after announcing Shakib’s reappointment as the Test captain.
It was actually the ICC’s ban on Shakib, for failing to report corrupt charges, that prompted the BCB to promote Mominul Haque as the Test captain in 2019. Three years later, they are forced to back the same man despite the questions over his availability for the future series and a fresh pile of documented misdemeanours that jeer at his on-field brilliance.
Despite the multiple things stacked against him, there is no questioning Shakib’s intent when he plays red-ball cricket. He is Bangladesh’s fifth highest run scorer and their sixth highest wicket taker in Tests since January 2020, despite being a regular absentee. He was the top scorer in the first Test against West Indies with 51 and 63. It is a massive challenge for the BCB to manage someone like Shakib, but it is the need of the hour to keep him playing red-ball cricket.
With their key batters terribly out of touch and the lack of a captain’s vision, Bangladesh are stuck in a dark tunnel with no end in sight. Sure, they have their bowling unit doing great work both at home and away, but lack of batting consistency has led to the downfall of better teams in this format.
They had two T20 series victories at home against New Zealand and Australia to mask their frailties, which led to their debacle at the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE. The Test side is traveling in a similar trajectory after that big win in New Zealand. There might not be a quick fix but ignoring the big issues will see Bangladesh in situations worse than six ducks in a single innings at Antigua.
