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Originally Posted by Sohel
@Asaad: It's all about the approach and philosophy, bro. I'm partial to the Irish approach and not the pre-Ganguly Indian one from the 90s. I believe you should set yourself up to compete irrespective of the circumstances and the best way to do that is by selecting the players with most ability irrespective of the venue. Selecting domestic bullies in the hope that while they're more than likely to fail outside the country, "at least" they'll do better under more familiar conditions albeit against far superior attacks than what they're used to, simply isn't a healthy approach in my book. Beside, we DON'T really compete at home, do we now? Winning a session or two simply isn't competing in a test match from where I stand, and having mediocre players only reduce our odds, even at home.
So guys like Rajin, Rocky, Mehrab, Sohrawardi, Jahurul Islam Omi, Farhad Reza, Nazimuddin, Nayeem and possibly Ratul, Rial and Liton in the not so distant future will never be my thing. The fluke successes notwithstanding, I doubt that any of them has the stomach to handle the pressure of high expectation after his initial success. I also would not bet on them to raise their game the way Riyad has. It's all about sustainability and consistency in my book, and not just in familiar home conditions, but also abroad because we're a test playing nation.
I said that overuse of a young bowler, because he's better than others at the time, creates a higher risk of injury especially on our flat track. I also said that once they get injured, their age becomes a factor, at least with regards psychosomatic impact of the injury. I didn't say that a fast bowler would get injured because he's young. I strongly feel that young prospects like Taskin and Rabbi need someone like Ian Pont to guide them into excellence while teaching them how to prevent injury, before they come into the national team. That, in short is my risk management assertion when it comes to young fast bowlers in Bangladesh.
So what would my ideal team of XV, we're only talking test cricket here BTW, to be held together with smart player rotation for at least a couple of busy years? Here it is:
1. Tamim Iqbal
2. Soumya Sarkar
3. Anamul Haq Bijoy
4. Shakib Al Hasan (C)
5. Mushfiqur Rahim
6. Nasir Hossain
7. Shubhagoto Hom
8. Dhiman Ghosh (WK)
9. Abul Hasan Raju
10. Enamul Haq
11. Rubel Hossain
Reserves:
12. Shohag Gazi
13. Mominul Haq Shourobh
14. Mohammad Mahmudullah Riyad
15. Shafiul/Nazmul/Tapash/Talha
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With all due respect Sohel bhai, Shuvagata should not be playing Tests. His temperament is just not good enough for this format and I feel he will not do well in this format. He does have the superb hand-eye coordination and overall solid technique. He has the goods to succeed and I believe you brought up the point that he has the hunger to be a great international batsman which is very important in becoming a successful international level player. The thing is, once he gets bogged down and you dry up the singles, he'll throw his wicket away by risking a boundary. This could be forgiven in T20I's and ODI's but in Tests, he'll throw his wicket away and not only hurt the team, but also the team dearly. This is why I would take the other Mymensingh batsman in Mahmudullah who also has good hand-eye coordation but also has the much more solid temperament and the ability to play with the tail.
Also I'd rather just play with Anamul at the top alongsides Tamim. Soumya is a few years away from being ready and wouldn't mind him being in the squad but not in the playing 11. I think we should be done away with the top order heavy lineup. Have Shakib or Nasir bat at #3. Since Shakib has more bowling responsibilities, it would make more sense Nasir bats at #3. They have the ability to play up the order and it makes no sense having our best batsmen down at #5 and #8. Like you, I too have my doubts Naeem can sustain his success at this level but wouldn't mind him getting a fair shake. I feel Mominul would end up being the better batsman in the long run compared to Naeem. I also agree that it's time Mushy takes his gloves off and hands it to a superior keeper in Dhiman. Also is it that hard for Dhiman to average in the mid-late 20's? Also I feel he could be a good stop gap until Nurul is completely ready for the higher level.
So the lineup that I want to see the next Test series is,
1. Tamim
2. Anamul
3. Nasir
4. Shakib
5. Mushy
6. Mahmudullah
7. Dhiman
8. Abul
9. Sohag
10. Sunny
11. Rubel
Reserves
12. Soumya
13. Enamul
14. Taskin
15. Mominul