DHAKA TUESDAY JANUARY 14, 2025, POUSH 30, 1431 BS

SPORTS REPORTER

Bangladesh’s obvious fears going into global events were well outlined in chairman of selection panel Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu’s press conference during the announcement of the Champions Trophy squad on Sunday. Flat wickets or even sporting tracks, as are observed in global ICC events, have more often than not found Bangladesh wanting.

More crucially, wickets of that nature strike at the heart of Bangladesh’s position of strength which is their pace-bowling prowess. Case in point is the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.

Taskin Ahmed may have been carrying the burden of injury but in Mustafizur Rahman, the Tigers wanted their ‘X-factor’ to really come alive. The wickets did not allow Mustafizur to settle. Ahead of the Champions Trophy, selection panel prioritised exuberance of youth, but it appears that it was mostly in batting terms, for Mustafizur had been picked on the back of experience factor -- a traditional reliance on said factor thus being witnessed again.

When asked about the experience factor in the Champions Trophy squad, Lipu relayed obvious fears.

“We always look for the best available combination but we could have a new experience [in this regard]. What I am concerned about is that with bowling being our position of strength, we couldn’t defend in West Indies series. It could be a blessing in disguise that we will not be overconfident. Where we made mistakes bowling in flat wickets in terms of line and length and judgement of individual batters, we will get somewhat of an opportunity to work on rectifying those mistakes during Bangladesh’s practice sessions,” the selection head said.

But if bowling on such flat wickets need to be improved upon, Mustafizur’s experience appear to count more since pacers such as Hasan Mahmud and Tanzim Sakib, too, suffered in the West Indies series. Mustafizur missed out on the tour and his last series was against Afghanistan in the UAE, not the kind of batting paradise as was in West Indies where Hasan or Sakib had to face the music.

Hasan went on to show his death-bowling prowess, despite largely been out of white-ball scheme since the 2023 World Cup. The right-arm pacer turned up in the Windies T20Is having gone at 6.5 per over economy rate in the ODIs. The right-arm pacer bagged four wickets at an economy of 5.08 in the T20Is and more crucially, put an exhibition of death-bowling in the T20Is. He was one of the key difference makers in the T20I series sweep.

Mustafizr, who had opted out of the Windies series, was Bangladesh’s most successful bowler in the prior ODI series, bagging eight wickets at average of 18.12 and an economy of 5.37 in three games. But he was not tested on those batting paradises in St Kitts. He shone through his work with the new ball, bagging his first four-for in over a year in the UAE during Afghanistan ODIs.

His cutters are usually more effective on such surfaces as Sharjah’s but if he is to justify his selection for Champions Trophy, the left-arm pacer needs to really produce something special.

In 2018 Asia Cup, Mustafizur put in a masterclass with the old ball to take the Tigers to the final. His yorkers are getting more effective and his incoming deliveries now make him more of an effective bowler. In the meantime, between Jan 2023 to Jan 2025, his economy, strike-rate and average have all soared compared to his overall career. It seems Mustafzir is not at all a selection based on recent history, but one from faith and expectation.