Bangladesh team
Former captains respect Mahmudullah’s retirement decision
Despite being a last-minute addition to the squad of the one-off Test against Zimbabwe, Mahmudullah Riyad proved his batsmanship once again. He returned an unbeaten 150 in the first innings of the Harare Test. It immediately created a hope that Mahmudullah would last in Tests for a longer period of time now. But Mahmudullah had another idea— after hitting career-best innings, he abruptly announced his retirement from the format that left many astonished.
But two former captains of the Bangladesh team— Aminul Islam Bulbul and Khaled Mashud Pilot, believe that it was Mahmudullah’s personal call and they respect it.
Read: Mahmudullah's Best Test Innings For Bangladesh
Mahmudullha has maintained a mysterious silence since he received a guard of honour ahead of the final day’s play in the Harare Test. He didn’t say a word about his retirement officially. The guard of honour came as the self-explanatory for his retirement.
“Mahmudullah was earlier told to focus on the white-ball cricket more by the team management. Despite being available, he was overlooked on a few occasions. He might have done it for it. But it was completely his own decision, and we have to respect him,” Aminul, who led Bangladesh in the inaugural Test, told UNB.
“Mahmudullah played in Harare as replacement of Tamim (Iqbal) or Mushfiqur (Rahim) as they are not fully fit. If they were fit, Mahmudullah might not have had the chance. However, what he did is his personal call. We have to respect it. And at the same time, it cannot be an example of the way of retiring from the national team. He informed his teammate when a match was underway. It would have been better if he told before the match or after it. But there is nothing about unprofessionalism. A player has the right to call his time whenever he wants,” Aminul added.
Mashud also echoed Aminul saying that it was Mahmudullah’s decision to call his time, and he has all the right to do so.
Read:Mahmudullah says “dramatic” goodbye to Test cricket, given guard of honour
“It’s his personal decision, and we have nothing to say about it. But we may ask why he has taken this decision this way. It is actually the board who should find out. I think there is a gap between the players and the board. Whatever the reason, it seems both the board and players lack respect for each other,” Mashud told UNB.
T20 World Cup 2021: Five Things the Bangladesh Team Needs To Address Before the World T20 2021
India will host the seventh ICC T20 World Cup from October to November 2021. This tournament will feature a total of 16 nations. The top ten full members of the ICC will be automatically qualified for the tournament.
The remaining six teams will be selected from the qualifying round. As the World Cup is being held in the subcontinent, the Mahmudullah-led Bangladesh team is expecting to do well in this year’s event. But five things the Bangladesh team needs to address before the World T20 2021 if they want to achieve something great in the tournament. These issues are discussed in this article.
In which sectors, Bangladesh need to improve before the T20 World Cup 2021?
Bangladesh will participate in the 2021 T20 World Cup under Mahmudullah Riyad’s leadership. Senior cricketers are expected to play in the World Cup despite the fact that they sometimes remain absent in bilateral series. Bangladesh have the potential to surprise the cricketing world if they can improve their deficiencies and play with unwavering faith. Now let’s take a look at the issues that the Bangladesh team needs to improve.
Read Without senior players, what Bangladesh’s ODI Cricket team could look like?
1) Bringing Shakib Al Hasan back at no.3
Usually, the best batsman plays at the number three position. For Bangladesh, Shakib Al Hasan has been batting in this position since 2018. Shakib had an excellent 2019 World Cup by batting at number three. But Shakib Al Hasan has been replaced by young Nazmul Hossain Shanto for the number three position since the Windies series in January. Afterward, Shanto and Soumya batted at number three for the next two series, but they failed to live up to the expectations. This indicates that Shakib Al Hasan is the only best option for this spot. So he should bat at number three in the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Read Mustafiz's Rajasthan vs Shakib's Kolkata: Which team has the best chance to win the IPL 2021?
2) Increasing all-rounders in the squad
Many teams now prioritize bringing in more all-rounders in the squad. Most of the all-rounders are aggressive batsmen who can score quickly when the team needs them. All-rounders are also valued for their ability to play an effective role with the ball. Bangladesh’s chances of performing well in the T20 World Cup will improve if more all-rounders are selected.
Read Key T20I Records between Bangladesh and New Zealand
3) Improving the efficiency of spinners
Spinners play an important role in India. Any decent quality spinner can become a nightmare for batsmen on Indian pitches. That is why more attention should be given to the inclusion of spinners in the squad than pacers. Apart from Shakib Al Hasan, there are several promising spinners in the Bangladesh team. However, there are doubts about their effectiveness against the world's premier batsmen. BCB should hire a qualified spin coach to help spinners improve their skills.
Read Mashrafe Mortaza drops a bombshell over his alleged T20 retirement in 2017
4) Mastering the batting technique in swinging conditions
Bangladesh's batsmen had to deal with a lot of swing from the pacers in their last series against New Zealand. They had struggled to cope with the extra pace, bounce, and awful swing deliveries of the Kiwi pacers in the whole tour. The vulnerabilities of Bangladesh batsmen on hard pitches were exposed once more in this series. Batsmen must have a clear understanding of how to bat aggressively in swinging conditions in the T20 format.
Read The Best ODI Batsmen of the 21st Century
5) Improving fielding performance
Bangladesh’s fielding performance has deteriorated noticeably. The ground fielding was terrible in the last two series, and the players missed a lot of catches. In any format, especially in T20, the chances of losing a match are high due to poor fielding. That’s why the Bangladesh team’;s overall fielding needs to be strengthened. The team’;s senior cricketers, especially captain Mahmudullah Riyad, will have to carry responsibility for motivating the players.
Read Memorable Match Winning Knocks in Tests
Bottom Line
After a disappointing performance in the recently concluded New Zealand series, it would be unreasonable to expect too much from Bangladesh’s present T20 side. Therefore five Things the Bangladesh team needs to address before the World T20 2021 in order to perform well during the tournament. One or two senior cricketers may retire from the T20 format after this tournament.
For that reason, no.1 all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, dashing opener Tamim Iqbal, Mr dependable Mushfiqur Rahim, and silent killer Mahmudullah Riyadh would all want to accomplish something significant in this competition together. No doubt, Bangladesh have an outside chance of winning this tournament if they play with full confidence.
Read Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka 2021: Five Things Bangladesh Cricket Team Must Do To win the Test Series in Sri Lanka
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