[Dhurr]

He gets drafted into the team after some brilliant batting in the domestic league (four centuries, IIRC) but gets dropped to #8 in the batting order in his very first game back (which means his batting isn't rated very highly by the coach/captain). OK, so maybe they see him as an all-rounder... or do they? He is only allowed to bowl two overs in the game. Fine, it's a weather-curtailed match, so he didn't get much of a chance to bowl. Maybe in the next game he will get to bowl more?

Not really. He didn't get to bowl even one delivery. In a match where Bangladesh bowled almost its entire quota of overs, Riyad didn't get a chance to bowl. He did get a chance to bat though. He was bumped up the batting order from #8 to... wait for it... #7. By the time he comes in to bat, Bangladesh was teetering on the edge of defeat at 54/5. In a pitch every batsman found difficult to bat in, Riyad played well and formed a partnership with Raqibul. He scored 26 valuable runs, which not only helped stop the collapse but also let us have a(n eventual) fighting total. These runs also came in good time. Riyad scored 26 off just 36 deliveries, by rotating the strike well and striking a couple of loose deliveries for fours and a short delivery for six. OK, so when finally given a chance to show his batting prowess, Riyad played a decent innings. Sure, he could have added some more runs, and sure, we would have liked to see him stay longer at the crease with Raqibul but under the circumstances, he did a decent job.

So the only chance that he got, he actually did a decent job and that's why I feel bad for Riyad: he doesn't get enough opportunities. If you draft a batsman, then let him bat. Don't send him in at #8 or #7. No batsman can succeed batting that low in the order. Who is he supposed to form partnerships with? Rubel and Nazmul? If you draft him as a bowler, then let him bowl. Don't let him bowl just two out of a possible eighty or so overs.

If the team's coach and captain thinks that Riyad is not a good bowling option and so he shouldn't bowl in ODIs, they should either treat him like a batsman or they should drop him for a bowler. If they think he is not a good enough batsman (and they obviously did think that - by slotting him for #8 in his first game and sending him in at #7 in the second), they should either let him bowl to earn his keep or they should select who they think is a proper batsman instead. If they think he is an allrounder, then they should let him play like an all-rounder, not a bowler who bowls two overs in one game and comes in at #8, or a batsman who comes in at #7 and doesn't bowl one ball.

Maybe Riyad will get more opportunities against Zimbabwe, and maybe he will fail when given those opportunities, but please let him have the chance to succeed. If he can't, then you can say it's his fault, but if he isn't even allowed that opportunity, then all I can do is feel bad for poor Riyad.