Mushfiq’s captaincy secured for now

Bangladesh Test skipper Mushfiqur Rahim can be rest assured that his captaincy won’t be taken away in 2015, said Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan on Saturday.
Mushfiq’s captaincy came under scrutiny during the recently concluded two-match Test series against Pakistan.

The decision to bat first in the second Test match where wickets turned out into a batting paradise after an hour in the first day, left the Bangladeshi bowlers helpless and everyone else surprised over his captaincy philosophy.

Pakistan exploited the gift to the fullest and recorded their first win in the series and in the process clinched the Test series after being clean swept in the three match one-day internationals and lone Twenty20 under the helm of Masharfee bin Murtaza.
‘There is no chance of replacing him [Mushfiq] this year,’ Nazmul Hasan told reporters at his residence on Saturday.
‘We don’t have any better option than him,’ said Nazmul.
‘I was in London during the second Test match and after we took fielding instead of batting that also raised questions on my mind.

‘I called Sakib [al Hasan] over phone, though he was not the captain. He told me that it was a combined decision and if the pace bowlers were not injured and we had got early breakthroughs things could have been different,’ said the BCB boss.

Mushfiq was replaced from the captaincy duties of ODI and Twenty20 in September 2014 after his defensive approach was often being criticised.
After replacing him, Mashrafee changed the face of Tigers ODI side with a 5-0 win over Zimbabwe in November in 2014.

Mashrafee followed it up with a World Cup quarter-final finish earlier this year and the 3-0 and 1-0 wins in ODI and Twenty20 series respectively over Pakistan.

In the new split-captaincy era, Mushfiq led Bangladesh to a 3-0 Test series win over Zimbabwe in October-November last year, but the 0-1 loss to Pakistan has again raised questions about his position as the captain.
However, Nazmul believes that instead of chopping the wicket-keeper batsman from the captaincy, time has come to consider whether he is taking extra burden of performing three jobs at a time.
‘I think it is very demanding to continue with all the responsibilities.’
‘To keep wickets for the whole day and then batting along with guiding a unit for five days can be taxing for anyone.

‘Mushfiq is our best batsman but we could not get his batting properly in the last Test match due to his injury during keeping and that harmed us a lot.’

‘If he has to leave any particular aspect than I would suggest it should be his keeping,’ Nazmul said.

Hope to play Test this year - Taskin Ahamed

Taskin Ahmed's burst in international cricket left many at the edge of their seats. The tall 20-year-old pace bowler has already added a flair to the Bangladesh pace attack under the leadership of Mashrafe Bin Mortaza. However, his success has been limited to the shorter versions.
When Bangladesh's Test team has been crying for a quality pace bowler in their line-up, many have been curious to know why this exciting bowler doesn't get the nod for Test.

“Test cricket is the ultimate goal for any cricketer. I have started my ODI and T20I career, but I am looking forward to Test cricket, but I have some fitness issues," Taskin told The Daily Star yesterday.
"I am working hard to improve my strength in my knees so that I can make my dream come true this year. If not this year then next year is a must," the confident paceman added.
Chief selector Faruque Ahmed said that his selection panel will meet with the concerned people regarding Taskin's fitness very soon to get an exact picture.

"Obviously it would be fantastic for us if he is available for Test selection, but we should be careful and make sure that Bangladesh gets his service from for a long period of time," said Faruque.

"Initially I had a problem with tendon in my left knee and then the same problem occured in my right knee. I have been in a rehabilitation programme under the supervision of our development trainer Stuart Karppinen and physio Brett Harropp for a long time and I have a system to follow.

“For example, I have to take a day's rest after every one-day game, but that would not be the case in Tests," Taskin said, explaining the reason behind the delay of his Test debut.

"I have a dream but I don't want to be over excited and I am fortunate that my hero Mashrafe [Bin Mortaza] bhai is there to advice me. He knows better than anybody as to what an injury-prone pace bowler should do. My long term dream is to serve my country for at least 15 years, so I have to be careful as I has been living with injuries from a very early stage of my career," added the paceman.

With a Test line-up that's struggling to find effective pacers, it would be a blessing for the Tigers if they can receive a fit Taskin any time in the future, even if not next year as per the bowler's target.

Give Mushfiq More Time

"How will you judge a general's capabilities on the battlefield when you give him a gun without bullets?" Former Bangladesh captain Gazi Ashraf Hossain made the comment when asked about the criticism surrounding Mushfiqur Rahim's Test captaincy.

"You can only properly judge how good a captain is during fielding. Whether someone can put pressure on his opponents is a general criterion to judge whether someone is a good captain. The reality for the Bangladesh Test captain is that he has to fight with a gun that has no bullets," opined Ashraf.

"Do you think we have a quality bowling attack? Our bowling is ordinary and the funny thing is that we expect attacking mentality from a captain who has been given a team with eight batsmen. So, our problem lies with our thinking.

"Basically we are still a coach-dependant team, so first thing is we have to give our captain liberty. I would like to see Mushfiqur not making comments like 'it's a team decision'. Actually Mushfiqur is a helpless leader. And he doesn't have any magic wand by which he can change everything overnight," he went on, adding that the selectors should announce a 12-member team for a home series to avoid last moment controversy.

He said that there had been mistakes in Mushfiqur's captaincy but removing him is not a good solution. "Yes, he made mistakes but to change him is not a solution, rather the people concerned should talk to him about his flaws. He also needs to be open-minded to rectify his mistakes. It would be unwise to forget that he is our best batsman and most consistent performer, which is a primary criterion for a skipper," said Ashraf.

Another former captain Roquibul Hasan also echoed Ashraf's sentiments.

"At this moment we cannot think about any change to the Test captaincy. We have to continue with Mushy. Yes he might have made some mistakes and to some extent he lacks imagination as a captain, but he is still young and I believe he will make it up," hoped Roquibul.

"I don't know what's going on inside, but we need to make sure two things happen; the people concerned should talk to him regularly regarding his captaincy and he should be open-minded so that he accepts criticism and learns," he added.

Former cricketer-turned-commentator Athar Ali Khan believed that there was room for Mushfiqur to improve on his captaincy and he also was not in favour of bringing any changes. "Who is his contender? Nobody is. If you look at his success you will not at all be frustrated. However, Mushfiqur has to be careful and has to analyse his performance as a captain.

"I feel that there is no scope of bringing any changes in Test captaincy, rather we have to give our full effort to help Mushfiqur improve his performance as captain. And another thing is that we have to think how to mould a better leader for the near future," he said.