Tigers’ fear of experiment put to rest

They start rotating, testing players as part of World Cup plan

The combination with which Bangladesh played the third and final ODI against Zimbabwe gave a clear indication of the country’s ever-growing progress as a cricketing nation and was the testament of their confidence with the players they called up in the squad.

The injury-forced rest of the country’s two top players—Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal from the entire series has already made this side effectively a second string team but still the team management dared to experiment with the team—a thing that the big guns of the cricket regularly do.

The third match was effectively a dead-rubber following Bangladesh’s two comprehensive victory over the Southern African nation in the first two matches. It might be an inconsequential match in terms of deciding the series but the loss not only put a halt on Bangladesh’s winning streak but also would make an adverse impact on the country’s rating points in the ICC ODI rankings.

However rating point was not big issue. For the team management and captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaz the big issue was to keep the winning-spree but still they rested some of their tested youngsters to provide room for some new faces in the match. In doing so, they put the fear of experiment in rest too, a thing that they hardly do when they are in winning-mode.

Ariful Haque made debut while Abu Haider Rony and Soumya Sarkar found a place in the playing XI. To make their way, Fazle Rabbi, Mehidy Hasan Miraj, and Mustafizur Rahman were left out.

Though the match was nothing but a sheer formality after Bangladesh secured their eighth successive series at home, the plan to give rest to Mehidy Hasan Miraj and Mustafizur Rahman clearly showed their depth if not anything else. Fazle Rabbi, however, for the time being, couldn’t justify his selection by being out with naught in two matches in a row.

The absence of Shakib al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal from the beginning of the series due to their respective injuries hardly looked to have any kind of impact in their opening two matches that the host won quite comprehensively—with a 28-run and a seven-wicket victory.

The openers—Liton Das and Imrul Kayes looked to be in good stead to manage the top of the order while the bowlers put up combined effort to help them clinch the series without any trouble. Kayes hit his career best 144 and then followed it up with 90 while Liton though was dismissed for 4 in the first match, got back with bang with 77 ball-83 in the second ODI.

Zimbabwe series is considered to be an ideal platform for the host to take a look at the options they have had ahead of the World Cup but with two leading cricketers missing it could hardly be considered a justified gamble.

Considering a loss will not only help the visitors earn a psychological boost while it will also hamper the confidence to some extent but the point to be noted is that they have started the journey for the World Cup.

Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza more often than not urged that they need to make sure that they don’t derail from their ultimate goal- World Cup- the series ending match laid a proof in that direction too.

Bangladesh normally preferred to form their eleven with five pace bowlers only which proves that it was a step towards on seeing how they react considering a preference of a bowling all-rounder is looking to be a top priority at the present.

Along the way injury management also look to be a big concern for them ahead of the World Cup journey and it was decided that they would follow some rotation policy, if required, to keep all of them available for the World Cup journey.

‘’I think we need to think about our present as well as our future in this case,’’ said BCB cricket operations chairman Akram Khan in the midst of the series.

‘’We will try to manage some of our leading players by playing them along with providing them with some rest here and there to make sure that they remain 100 percent fit during the World Cup,’’ he added.

 

Tigers fear of experiment put to rest

They start rotating, testing players as part of World Cup plan

The combination with which Bangladesh played the third and final ODI against Zimbabwe gave a clear indication of the countrys ever-growing progress as a cricketing nation and was the testament of their confidence with the players they called up in the squad. The injury-forced rest of the countrys two top playersShakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal from the entire series has already made this side effectively a second string team but still the team management dared to experiment with the teama thing that the big guns of the cricket regularly do. The third match was effectively a dead-rubber following Bangladeshs two comprehensive victory over the Southern African nation in the first two matches. It might be an inconsequential match in terms of deciding the series but the loss not only put a halt on Bangladeshs winning streak but also would make an adverse impact on the countrys rating points in the ICC ODI rankings. However rating point was not big issue. For the team management and captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaz the big issue was to keep the winning-spree but still they rested some of their tested youngsters to provide room for some new faces in the match. In doing so, they put the fear of experiment in rest too, a thing that they hardly do when they are in winning-mode. Ariful Haque made debut while Abu Haider Rony and Soumya Sarkar found a place in the playing XI. To make their way, Fazle Rabbi, Mehidy Hasan Miraj, and Mustafizur Rahman were left out. Though the match was nothing but a sheer formality after Bangladesh secured their eighth successive series at home, the plan to give rest to Mehidy Hasan Miraj and Mustafizur Rahman clearly showed their depth if not anything else. Fazle Rabbi, however, for the time being, couldnt justify his selection by being out with naught in two matches in a row. The absence of Shakib al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal from the beginning of the series due to their respective injuries hardly looked to have any kind of impact in their opening two matches that the host won quite comprehensivelywith a 28-run and a seven-wicket victory. The openersLiton Das and Imrul Kayes looked to be in good stead to manage the top of the order while the bowlers put up combined effort to help them clinch the series without any trouble. Kayes hit his career best 144 and then followed it up with 90 while Liton though was dismissed for 4 in the first match, got back with bang with 77 ball-83 in the second ODI. Zimbabwe series is considered to be an ideal platform for the host to take a look at the options they have had ahead of the World Cup but with two leading cricketers missing it could hardly be considered a justified gamble. Considering a loss will not only help the visitors earn a psychological boost while it will also hamper the confidence to some extent but the point to be noted is that they have started the journey for the World Cup. Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza more often than not urged that they need to make sure that they dont derail from their ultimate goal- World Cup- the series ending match laid a proof in that direction too. Bangladesh normally preferred to form their eleven with five pace bowlers only which proves that it was a step towards on seeing how they react considering a preference of a bowling all-rounder is looking to be a top priority at the present. Along the way injury management also look to be a big concern for them ahead of the World Cup journey and it was decided that they would follow some rotation policy, if required, to keep all of them available for the World Cup journey. I think we need to think about our present as well as our future in this case, said BCB cricket operations chairman Akram Khan in the midst of the series. We will try to manage some of our leading players by playing them along with providing them with some rest here and there to make sure that they remain 100 percent fit during the World Cup, he added.