The Bangladesh cricket team have shown they aren’t pushovers. The Tigers have possessed the ability to one-up any opposition in white-ball cricket for some time now, but they have never been able to crack Test cricket. Despite playing the longest format for 24 years, it wasn’t until two weeks ago that they beat a full-strength team away from home in a Test series. You’d feel that Bangladesh may have finally cracked the toughest code in cricket.
Pacer’s a concern
Bangladesh’s motto was always: spin will win it for us. Their three highest wicket-taking pacers have combined 192 scalps in Test cricket. In comparison, their second-most successful spinner, Taijul Islam alone, has 195 wickets. However, now things are changing. Their 2-0 series victory was off the back of an incredible performance by their fast bowlers.
Pakistan lost 36 wickets, and 21 of those were taken by Bangladeshi pacers. Even more astoundingly, in the second innings of the second Test, all 10 wickets were taken by the fast bowler—a first in Bangladesh’s Test history. Until a few years ago, you’d be laughed at if someone said Pakistan’s pacers aren’t better than Bangladesh, but that has become a fact at this moment.
For the India Test series, they are bringing four pacers: Nahid Rana, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed and Khaled Ahmed. Shoriful Islam isn’t even coming due to an injury, and yet the quartet is looking strong. The last time Hasan and Nahid bowled, they claimed a 5-fer and 4-fer, respectively. Taskin wasn’t that great against Pakistan but undoubtedly is incredibly gifted.
If Mohammed Siraj doesn’t play, Bangladesh can give the Indian pacers a run for their money. Jasprit Bumrah is heads and shoulders above others, but who’s the next pacer if Siraj doesn’t play? Akash Deep might play, and at this point, both Hasan and Nahid might be better.
Spin trio
Just because their pace performance has improved doesn’t mean that Bangladesh’s spinners won’t be a threat. Their trio of spinners, Shakib Al Hasan, Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, are the highest wicket-takers in Bangladesh’s Test history, and while Taijul didn’t play in Pakistan, Shakib and Mehidy took 15 wickets between them.
They might not really be in the same league as Jadeja or Ashwin but still pose a major threat. Especially Shakib and Taijul. India has 4 right-handers in their top 6, and several batters were struggling against left-arm spin in Sri Lanka last month. In the last 6 months, only a couple of batters have played first-class cricket, so naturally they might have trouble facing high-quality Bangladeshi spinners.
“Spin wise, we are close to them, but experience wise, I would keep them ahead, but our spinners can bowl in any condition, and I can say this much—that all the players, whether pacers, spinners or batters, whoever will play, every player will give a hundred percent.” Bangladesh captain Najmul Shanto had said on their spinners before making way to Chennai.
Bangladesh squad for India Tests
Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Kumer Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Nahid Rana, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Jaker Ali Anik
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