DHAKA: Two poor matches cannot create Tsunami in Cricket playing status of roaring Royal Bengal unit. There cannot be expressions of gloom and doom.

Bangladesh gave a poor account of themselves against emerging Afghan lions over the first two ODIs. There are a lot of talks, lot of permutations and combinations going on in print, electronic and social media. If my 42 years’ cricket writing experience and if my over 50 years’ international cricket viewing eyes do not fail me, I can assure adoring Bangladeshi cricket admirers that Tiger Squad of Mashrafe will bounce back and leave behind a strong message for touring English team with a characteristic ODI win today. I am sure they are going to celebrate 100th ODI win on Saturday (October 1) in grand fashion.

Without undermining the praiseworthy performance of Afghan team we must say Bangladesh performed well below par in every department of the game in the first two matches. Excepting few batsmen batted without any plan, bowling appeared toothless at the critical stage, fielding lacked killer sharpness. The aggressive cricket that characterized tigers over the entire 2015 was sadly missing.

This Afghan team must not be great players of quality spin bowling. Still, apart from Shakib, the team did not have quality spin bowlers. One can really question why Arafat Sunny was not included in the squad? Did team think tank take it for granted that he would not get through the re-test of his remodeled bowling action?

In his absence tried and tested quality spinner Abdur Razzak could have been an ideal choice. If he is not match-fit how could he continuously perform in all versions of domestic cricket? Why not quality leg-spinner Jubair Hossain was exposed against Afghans? Do they play quality leg spin better than other teams? 

Sabbir failing to perform should automatically open the door for Nasir Hossain in the playing XI for his all-round ability - quality late order batsman, useful bowler, and a brilliant fielder.

We are not worried about the temporary loss of batting form of Mushfiqur and odd lapses behind the wicket. Sooner or later he will bounce back. We do not need pace-heavy attack. Afghans bat quality pacers much better than spinners. Shakib bowled exceeding well in both matches. Sunny or Jubair as his bowling mate could make a lot of difference. We believe Al-Amin in starting XI in place of Rubel could be a better choice.

Anyways, we cannot remedy what damage has already been done. But any slippage today will make Bangladesh slide down to the eighth spot in ICC ODI ranking. That will create additional pressure on Bangladesh before starting a very crucial series against strong England. This makes winning the only option today and winning big. That will make a strong statement itself. 

Given the quality and resources at Mashrafe’s disposal, it only needs changing of mindset and leaving matters exclusively on captain handling the affairs in the ground. We must realize that success has many fathers but failures are orphans. Bangladesh needs to score over 250 if they bat first or try to restrict Afghans below 200 in the case of bowling first. Tigers must play an aggressive brand of cricket.

The seasoned batsmen getting in and getting out at crucial moments leave additional pressure on incoming new batsmen. In first ODI, Bangladesh could have scored over 300-run playing normal cricket. In the second match, the wicket and circumstances did not warrant a score of 208 from a quality batting unit. If rookie Mosaddek can bat with supreme confidence why not most of the others? Tamim, Shakib, Mahmudullah and Mushfique must lead the way. I would suggest playing Nasir. My team would be:

Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mosaddek Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Taskin Ahmed.

Bangladesh would need stability at the top. Need the experience of four quality batsmen in the top five creating platform for Sabbir and Nasir to stretch the innings beyond the limit of Afghanistan.

Tiger admirers worry a little less. The inherent quality of Bangladesh cricket and resilience would sustain Bangladesh through the crucial moments. I am sure Bangladesh will win today and win big. Wounded tigers always force back with ferocity.

BDST: 1148 HRS, OCT 01, 2016
SR