Although the selector Habibul Bashar has stated that Bangladesh feels confident heading into the one-off Test match against Afghanistan that will take place the following month, such “confidence” has never exactly been able to hold up when evaluated by outcomes in the longest format of the game. However, there is a strategy that the Tigers are working on.
It is possible that national team players like Mominul Haque, Shoriful Islam, Nurul Hasan Sohan, and Yasir Ali, who are now in Sylhet to see the A team play their West Indies counterparts, would be featured in the third four-day game that will also take place in Sylhet. In the second four-dayer that is presently being played, pacer Khaled Ahmed is participating in the match for the A side.
In the meanwhile, people in Mirpur like Nazmul Hossain are practicing their batting on stone slabs. It would appear that there is a concept taking shape that would include test stars receiving some much-needed feedback on how their performances change under different circumstances.
Even if the matches played by the A team are highly significant, the fact that this competition is taking place before the test against Afghanistan has given it a higher profile and given us an advantage. Because of this, the Test players are in attendance, and this is a significant chance. Not because they are competing for a spot on the squad, but rather because they are gaining more playing time, selector Abdur Razzak said to The Daily Star yesterday.
“We are not going to play anyone without first conducting thorough planning. It is not at all the case that we are fooling someone who does not have a purpose. Because some of them also require practice, we are making sure that they get it,” he added.
Razzak described the pitch as “good, friendly, sporting,” and it will be used for the second and third of the A team’s four-day matches that are being played at the Sylhet outer stadium. The selector, Habibul Bashar, preferred to keep his cards close to his breast while preparations continue but did hint that they have a strategy in place.
“We have a good idea of how the surface in Mirpur will behave, and the wicket will be prepared according to our needs,” Bashar said further.
When Afghanistan play the Tigers on June 14, the wicket in Mirpur will be a primary focus. This is especially true in light of the fact that the choice to prepare a surface that somewhat favored spinners resulted in a loss for the Tigers the previous time they faced Afghanistan.
The fact that ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan will not be participating in the test due to injury is another cause for concern, particularly because it puts the spin department of the hosts’ team under the microscope, which in turn underlines Afghanistan’s relative strength in the spin department. The pacers, with assistance from the spinners Mehedi Hasan Miraz and Taijul Islam, will be responsible for carrying the load in Shakib’s absence.
Given their previous experience in Chattogram, during which they suffered a defeat by 224 runs, selection-wise, the most significant concern will be how to deal with the spin danger posed by Afghanistan.
“Both Miraz and Taijul are doing a good job bowling in the Tests. Bashar observed that since our fast bowling section has a lot of options, we would make our decision based on that.
An announcement about the team will take place prior to Chandika Hathurusingha’s arrival on June 3. When Bashar was asked if pinpointing the location of the home advantage would be difficult, he responded, “No, it’s not. I have the impression that we are a self-assured team. We are in agreement over the appropriate wickets for us to play on.