[Quasimodo]

Bangladesh have many class players but also many holes which needs to be filled. There are, however, options which can help us maybe fill those holes to have a complete and better team. To do that, we must first classify the needs that the Bangladeshi team has.

Needs:
Keeper
Opening
No 3
No 4
Off Spinners
Pacers

* Keeper.
What are the main essentials of wicket-keeping? Really, There are two - an ability to sight the ball early and then to catch it, whether it comes from a delivery, a hit, or a throw-in.
-Alan Knott

A keeping position is the most important fielding position in a game. A keeper gets his hands to more then 90% of the balls bowled. He is the person in a cricket match, you can say surely will probably have something to do with the fielding and taking wickets. Be it run outs, stumping, or catches. Thus, having a keeper who will minimize his mistakes will save us many runs. I would say that a Keeper-Batsman if far more important than a Batsman-Keeper.

- Dhiman Ghosh/ Mithun Ali/ Saghir Hossain : I haven't heard much recently commenting on how great any of them were as keepers or as batsman. I do not support bringing up any of them to the team, just for the sake of removing Mushfiq from the Job. Coming into the national team should be much harder, and not just anyone with a good day in cricket should be able to make it.

- Khaled Mashud : We all know about his contribution to the Bangladeshi team. In my eyes, he is still the best wicketkeeper Bangladesh has ever had. With his wicketkeeping he can save many runs by not dropping catches. Today is his 34th birthday and I think he can still help Bangladesh out another one or two years. In the mean time, he can also serve as a personal coach to the next keeper to be. Keeping is the position where the fielding should be the strongest, and as of now its one of the worst fielded areas we have. Khaled Mashud could also become a liable captain for Bangladesh. The younger players would respect and listen to him more. He could be their coach in the field. Khaled Mashud still has a lot to serve Bangladesh, and I want Bangladesh to take full advantage of that.

- Anamul Hoque : He's very young, but Bangladesh is in sire need of anyone or anything that could help them. From what I've heard and seen, he's a class keeper and an accomplished batsman in the Under-19 level. He should be given the chance to play a few matches, and be coached personally by Khaled Mashud. Having him in the team would fill the hole of having another opener along with Tamim, which we desperately need. I believe he should be given a chance at least for 3-4 months and if he cannot stand the pressure, then send him back to the under 19 levels to continue with that. We have tried it with Mushfiq by giving him a chance early, I think we need to give Anamul a chance too. Bangladesh is in dire needs.

*Opener.

A loving wife is better then making 50 in cricket, or even 99. Beyond that, I will not go. - J. M. Barrie.

An opening pair has many different jobs, which the other batsman might not have to do later on. He has the job to see off the new ball. He has the job in one day cricket to play positively in the powerplay overs. The opening pair is the only people who will surely bat in a cricket game no matter what happens in the game.

- Rony Talukdar/ Amit Mojumder : I believe that this is the last thing we need at the moment. Someone who finds form and is hyped up, but then goes off into the obscurity. That is what we have in our national team, players who had a supreme high but now finds himself in the supreme low. Adding another player to that list in our national squad will only do worse for us. We need players who can contribute regularly and over a long period of time, rather then just for a year or two.

- Anamul Hoque : (See Above). The only problem that I see with Anamul and Tamim opening is that they both likes to play their innings with strokes. I don't think its wise to open with two aggressive stroke players in the team. I don't think one would compliment the other.

- Javed Omar: I am bringing his name back to the equation, because I think he would compliment Tamim perfectly. Javed Omar is a consistent batsman who will surely slow down the other side while Tamim is allowed to play his natural game. The only problem that I may have with Javed Omar is that he does not have the ability to accelerate when the time requires him to. With him however, we could easily have 80 run opening stands : Tamim 60, Omar 20. Remember the job that Junaed has done against India, I think Javed Omar is made to do those sort of job to support an aggressive batsman and keep the pace of the innings within reason.


*No 3.

Many continentals think life is a game; the English think cricket is a game.
George Mikes

No 3 position is the position which requires skill, technique and temperament. The best cricket players should be played here because this position is the best place to avoid a batting collapse. A strong no 3 player can pace the innings and take their team to a good position. No 3 players job should be to stay there for as long as he can and not worry too much about runs that he's getting.

- Mushfiqur Rahim: I think Mushfiq has the most talent as a player and should be moved up to play the no 3 position. He has proven that he is a good player in the top of the batting lineup. One of my friends told me, "Mushfiq only plays good when Bangladesh plays bad". I think that he is right but to an extent. Mushfiq needs time to settle and slowly get his runs. When Bangladesh is in a good position, then Mushfiq is only required to make quick runs. That is not his strongest point. When he has many overs to play, we saw that he can flourish (tests, early collapses). I think Mushfiq is best fit for the No 3 batsman.

- Shahriar Nafees: I think Shariar Nafees has gone from strength to strength, but he is not a good no 3 player. He cannot pace his innings, and he just tends to try and hit big. This sort of batting doesn't do him any good or the team. He has had his time as an opener, but he's not good at seeing off the new balls either. I just think Bangladesh is past the point where we need Shariar Nafees to play good against associate teams. We're now in contention with the top teams and I think we will do well.

- Mahmudullah: I don't think Mahmudullah is a no 3 batsman. He has proven that he can be consistent, but I don't think he has proven as much as Mushfiq has.

*No 4.

In real cricket, the player who has developed imagination and skill mkaes the game, but in the one day match it is the other way round. The match dictates to the player.
Brian Close.

No 4 is the most important position in a cricket match in terms of batting. The difference between 80-2 and 80-3 is significant. The no 4 batsman has to be able to pace the innings and be able to change his style of play according to how the situation is. He can come in the 10th over where he is required to stick to the crease, at the 20th over when he is required to look for the singles and the doubles, or at the 30th over when he is required to gets the runs at a faster pace. No 4 batsman is the architect of the game.

- Farhad Hossain: He is showing to be a great domestic cricketer. But I don't think he should be directly put into the no 4 position. The no 4 place should be reserved for players who have proven that they can play well and with different styles. Farhad Hossain can however come at a later time in the match, when his batting can be appreciated. He is also a part timer bowler which can also be helpful. In over time, if he can prove his worth at the bottom, the he can be moved up the order.

- Habibul Bashar: I think Habibul Bashar deserves another chance at the team because it seems he has gotten his form back. We know that he is an amazing batsman, and he has done his part in the Bangladeshi team. So there's no doubt in his skills. He was just going through a rough patch in his form and I believe he moved past the rough patches and is playing like he always had. Having the Legend back in his 2000's form would do wonders for a Bangladeshi team which is looking for a anchor to steady the ship. I always thought that Bashar was put out of the team prematurely and he should be given the exit that he deserves.

- Mahmudullah: Mahmudullah is the best player suited for this position as he has proven that he can control innings. He can play long innings and he is very consistent, both of which I believe he has proved with his five back to back domestic centuries. He can also play strokes when needed and get a few boundaries coming in here and there. He has been always short of a batting partner and its time that he is given one. He should be rewarded for his temperament, patience, and form.

* Off Spinners.

The first thing is to be patient, which is probably the hardest thing to do. Don't worry if blokes are whacking you out of the park because you still have the opportunity to get him out next ball, even if it's not the same ball.
Shane Warne


Great spinners, Murali, Warne, and Kumble (except vettori) all bowled right handed and forced the batsman out rather then waiting for them to make a mistake. I think the type of spin has a great influence on a batsman.

- Mahmudullah: Mahmudullah is an off spinner, but I would hate to use him for more then a over or two in a game. He should forget all about his bowling and concentrate on his batting. He can be a handy batsman, and shouldn't have to worry about how he is bowling. I don't believe that the extra pressure of having to bowl too would do no good. However, at any time, a little different kind of spin in a SLA dominated team could really confuse the batsman and could come in handy.

- Farhad Hossain: Farhad Hossain coming at to bat late would make a handy off spinner. He would be able to bowl just a tad more then Mahmudullah and them together could put 6-7 overs of off spin which could come in useful since Bangladesh pace bowling is the weaker of the two. He can also go up the order in batting if he can prove that he is an useful batsman. He deserves a chance in lower order not because of his batting, but because he's an all rounder and can be a different sight for the batsman.

- Alok Kopali: He's been a good for bangladesh before and he knows whats it like to play international cricket. He could be handy in his day with the bat also. Its good to have an Afridi in the team for later times. His recent form has been in question but he's the "hit or miss" batsman that I'd like to have in the team over all the others because he's capable to do a little something with the ball also.

- Marshall Ayub: He deserves a chance to play as he's played for a while and many people who are not as good as him got chances to play. He should be given a in t20's or against associate teams to get a taste of international cricket where his personal result wouldn't harm Bangladesh much. His part time off spin could also be handy.


* Pacers.

I bowl my best when I'm fittest and the best way to get fit is to bowl. That's how you get your rhythm. You can't really find a rhythm by bowling in the nets.
Brett Lee

Pace has been the original form of bowling and the mandatory form of bowling to get batsman out. Bangladesh is dry on pacers, but so are many other teams. They should just try to play and improve on the young sets of pacers that they have.

- Mashrafe: I would only play him on test cricket and just give up on one day cricket with him. One day cricket is much more pressure as you have to be exact in everything for to not get hit. Even in test cricket, I would use him as the third bowler who would bowl only four to five overs a day and hope that he can produce some magic. In most test, the third bowler bowls only a few overs anyway. I would give them to Mashrafee.


- Hope: Hope that Bangladesh finds some pacers who could really raise the bars that Bangladesh have set for pace.

* Bonus*

There are many other players who are doing great for Bangladesh that are knocking on the door for a national team chance. These are the types of depth that Bangladesh should have on every position of the team.

- S. Shuvo: He's proven a lot and over a long time. He definitely deserves a chance at bowling, but has been made to wait for this long because he is an SLA, and there are many other SLA's that are in line above him. Having to perform in the domestic circuit year after year isn't that easy but he has done it even when national players found and lost form. He deserves a chance.

- S. Sajib: He outperformed S. Shuvo but hasn't done it for long, and that is what keeps him still behind Shuvo for the national call up. However if he can continue to perform this way for another year or so, he should replace Naeem or even Sakib in the national squad.

- Shuvagoto Hom: He's my favorite prospect. I think he's the next player that we was looking to find, and we might find him in the national team very soon.

- Asif Ahmed: He's young and thats why he's a great prospect. At 16 years of age, its always hard to score two back to back centuries, but he's done it. He should be given another two to three years before he gets a call up, even if he keeps scoring at the same rate as he is now.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My team:

Tamim
Imrul
Mushfiq
Mahmudullah
Sakib
Naeem
Farhad Hossain
Khaled Mashud*+
Mashrafee
Shahadat
Shafiul

Junaed
Rubel Hossain
Anamul Hoque
S. Shuvo

This is first post in Banglacricket, and this team is strictly my opinion. If someone doesn't agree with any of my opinions, I am sorry. I apologize in advance, and thanks for reading.