At the Emerging Asia Cup, which took place in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh sent as many as six openers, including Soumya Sarkar, with the hopes of evaluating the performance of the cricketers in consideration for the position of backup opener on the national squad.
After suffering loss at the hands of India A in the semifinals, there is a significant amount of uncertainty over the topic of whether or not the team management fulfilled their goals.
It is still unclear whether or not Tamim Iqbal will be able to make a comeback to the national team, and as a result, the conversation over the backup opener berth is likely to take on a more prominent role.
The opener for the national team, Mohammad Naim, who was the backup opener before Tamim’s retirement saga, played two rather unconvincing innings in the two ODIs against Afghanistan in Chattogram, returning figures of 0 and 9. This indicates that the team management may have to continue looking for a solution to the problem of Liton Das’s opening partner.
In addition to taking Naim, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Zakir Hasan, Saif Hassan, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, and Parvez Hossain Emon to the Emerging Asia Cup, the team also featured Soumya as a batting all-rounder who batted lower in the order.
Tanzid was the most convincing among those that opened the event, demonstrating a highly upbeat attitude and scoring three fifties. He was the only player to do so. He played in four games and had 179 runs scored with an average of above 44. His tournament total of 131 runs in three innings suggests that he may be one for the future, but an ODI call-up is still an improbable possibility. Mahmudul Hasan Joy scored a hundred as the team was losing early wickets against Afghanistan A. His tournament total suggests that he may be one for the future.
Together with Tanzid, Naim had batted in the opening position, and the two of them had combined to score 125 runs at an average of little over 41. Despite the fact that Soumya and Sheikh Mahedi have performed well, it is not yet clear if the team management has the faith in them to play the number seven position for the national side.
During this time, the unclear circumstance surrounding Tamim’s homecoming progressed even further. It has been reported in the media that Tamim’s participation at the World Cup might be in jeopardy as a result of the recovery time required after surgery. Yesterday, President Nazmul Hassan of the BCB was questioned about the current predicament.
“Tamim is our captain for the World Cup, and he will be doing that if he returns; but, if he does not return, someone else will be doing it. It is now unclear which of the next matches he will be able to participate in and which he may not. We hope that he will recover quickly and be with us again soon,” Nazmul said to the press.
Even if the Emerging side is based on bringing forth combinations to serve the needs of the national side, it is yet unknown whether or not this concept will finally be successful in producing results.