Discussion: What does Mahmudullah Riyad bring to the team ?

[Imtiaz]

I have been tolerating his presence but yesterday the question popped up - what is he doing here ?

In our very ordinary cricketing history, yesterday was the best executed slog overs. Slog would be the wrong word. It was executed with some class.

What did Mahmudullah do in that period ? - sweet FA.

Some might say, he gave the strike to Alok. Yeah, after wasting two balls before he did so each time.

I choose the last ball of the 40th over as my starting point [ that way we score 101 runs of 10.1 overs ]. 182/5 [ yes with 5 wickets in hand - JS RULZ !!! ]

Batsman: Balls faced : Runs: SR :

Kapali: 38: 76: 200

Mahmudullah: 23: 19: 82

Mahmudullah is the classic bits and pieces player who does everything but would not be selected for any specialist role. Farhad is another such player. Except one thing I will say about Farhad - yesterday he would have had a go. Mahmudullah could have and should have scored another 15 or so runs. We had wickets in hand - a luxury we are not used to. Mashrafe, Farhad and Razzak are all capable of wielding the willow in these situations. I am not saying that we would have necessarily won the match but it would have added another 10% on the likelihood.

His career average may look healthy [ not surprisingly highest amongst Bangladeshis ] @ 35.87 and yesterday he managed to increase that by another 3.25. Coming in at No.7 and scoring at only 68 runs per 100 balls, no wonder his average is inflated.

Compare that to Raqibul, who is clearly a watchful innings builder. Raqibul's SR is 67. Mahmudullah has managed 5 not out's in 13 innings by not taking risks in the death overs. But he is no Michael Bevan.

I can understand he is selected as the "holding" multiskilled player. Mahmudullah's bowling is even less than ordinary. We can no longer afford players who can do a little bit of everything.

But after yesterday we need to revisit our nucleus ODI side. We just about have 11 players who can command a position in at least one department. If they can also bowl/bat additionally that can be a bonus. After Sakib's return, Mahmudullah will have to compete with Alok for the "holding" role - sorry no competition there. They batted side by side for 15 overs, we know who can cut the mustard !

Maybe JS is giving players who he thinks have the ability some leeway. I think he is wrong about Nazim but I was encouraged that he still gave him the third chance. He is , of course, extremely wrong about Rasel. But that is a separate topic.

If, however, the selectors see in Mahmudullah a good potential as a batsman, then very well. Bat him higher where he can build an innings. He seems to be always building an innings - so might as well make it his job.

[BANFAN]

Mahmudullah brings in his allround performance. Yes kapali might have scored big yesterday, doesnot mean we can forget m.Ullah. I am equally angry on him for missing the catch, but he has been making some contribution consistently, since he came.

Why compare him with the best performaer of a day? Compare him with the entire team, he will be definitely above average performer with bat. But he ruined everything by dropping that catch. it was so vital.

Hope he learns for future

[pappiok]

im not worrying about riyad because im sure after the asia cup he will not be in the starting 11 because saqib will take his place. he will be in the 15 man squad.

[Rifat]

chi chi chi, ekjon bhalo khellei arek joner dam kome jai SHAME

Mahmudullah, has been doing nothing exceptional, but nothing less. he did what he should have done. provide support for his partner and give him strike plus, if you have noticed he is a warrior, he stays in the wicket, hopefully in future he becomes a great asset to this Team inshallah.

although he should work a bit on his off-spin, this is international cricket. why his average better than others.... he stays NOT OUT, he plays the Javed Omar Anchor role, perhaps with a better strike rate.

i should say, he has cemented his spot in the national team unless he fails in the next 5 consecutive matches, i would say he has done a great job with his limited "talent" and the opportunities with he was given

[lamisa]

i agree with rifat 100%!!!riyad consistently perform kore jaitese,or economy rate was also pretty good yesterday,hes a good fielder most of the times,so what r u complaining about?

[ausbangfan]

i reckon his spot in the team is under question now in future matches with shakib to come back, aftab possibly back in the team and now alok's century, it will be hard to find a place for him. Personally I think only #2 and #6 spots are in question and by the way who's the better all rounder Alok Kapali or Mahmudullah Riyad?

1 Tamim Iqbal
2 Junaid Siddique/Nazimuddin/Shahriar Nafees
3 Mohammad Ashraful
4 Raqibul Hasan
5 Shakib al Hasan
6 Aftab Ahmed/Mahmudullah Riyad/Alok Kapali
7 Mushfiqur Rahim
8 Mashrafe Mortaza
9 Abdur Razzak
10 Shahadat Hossain
11 Syed Rasel

[taklima_naj]

u said everythimg what in my mind, yeah, in that position we need someone who can hit, well yesterday he came at the crease around 35 overs when wicket was falling, so he needed to just support alok, but i agree with you at the end from 43 over he could do some hitting and we eagererly needed that as we had wickets in hand,management should provide instruction at this stage, not sure if they did yesterday. we should be more improvise at that case, at least should have some runs instead of having dot balls in that case.well, forhad, razzak, mash was capable to slog more instead of riyad. We can even try with aftab in that position when he comes back in terms of condition

[taklima_naj]

Originally Posted by ausbangfan
i reckon his spot in the team is under question now in future matches with shakib to come back, aftab possibly back in the team and now alok's century, it will be hard to find a place for him. Personally I think only #2 and #6 spots are in question and by the way who's the better all rounder Alok Kapali or Mahmudullah Riyad?

1 Tamim Iqbal
2 Junaid Siddique/Nazimuddin/Shahriar Nafees
3 Mohammad Ashraful
4 Raqibul Hasan
5 Shakib al Hasan
6 Aftab Ahmed/Mahmudullah Riyad/Alok Kapali
7 Mushfiqur Rahim
8 Mashrafe Mortaza
9 Abdur Razzak
10 Shahadat Hossain
11 Syed Rasel

I dont understand why you guys dont consider mehrab jr as on opener instead of nazim, shahriar or junaid, he could be handy as a bowler as well.

[WarWolf]

He brings stability in the late middle order for last one year.

[Sadz]

He wont win us matches for innings like yesterday

[bdchamp20]

Maybe Riyad is just not a no. 7, he might be better up the order but since everyone is performing he has no option but to bat where he is or be benched.

[Blah]

Until yesterday, mahmudallah was a more favorable player (pound by pound) than kapali in all areas. Mahmudullah is the least of bd's concern.

[mahbubH]

Ya in the last match he should have at least 100% striking rate. Team score 280+/6 and someone batting in the last 10 overs will not have ran a ball is not good.

I think Ryad will not win matches but he is sensible (rare quality of BD cricket), we can keep him till we get a good replacement of him.

[simon]

I dont agree that its the time that we think of dropping Ryad.
Alok did the best of his carrier & so Ryad looked quite poor next to him.
Ryad has a very good avrge from less than 20 Odis(I guess) he played.
Alok played 60 ODIS.
We may judge Ryad after the next 2 mtchs & better if he bats at Mushfqs position.

[The_Yorker]

In BD Vs India match, apparently Ryad seemed to be more interested in staying “not out” rather than increasing his run rate to over 100%, which was definitely possible given BD had 5 wickets in hand. This was really selfish of a player not looking after a team. However, in general I think he is doing quite well as a batsman and deserves praise. His bowling is not good at all.

[Sohel]

Riyad is a mentally tough, hardworking middle order batsman batting further down the order. He values his wicket, is difficult to dismiss, and can hit a few after he takes his own time settling down. He's also a decent fielder who can become an excellent fielder given his drive and athleticism.

His ODI bowling can also improve once he is coached properly, which he hasn't been at any level. He is young and will continue to improve Inshallah.

As a batsman, he has difficulty finding the gap on occasion, and rotating the strike as fluently as he needs to, but who doesn't in our team, especially when compared to International batsmen from the Top 8 ? Sid needs to work with everyone in this area and that includes Mohammad Mahmudullah Riyad.

Technically, he may not as compact as Obhi, Ollie, Nirala, GoBoy, BiZu or the post T20I WC Tamim, and does not hit the ball as cleanly or fiercely as Aftab, Farhad or Dollar can, but his temperament and fearlessness make him just as valuable IMHO. He has what it takes to break through his temporary limitations and surprise us all by going well beyond our sober expectations.

He plays the same way in domestic cricket and kudos to him for making the psychological transition to the highest level with such ease.

I don't think we'll be having this discussion if he didn't have a particularly bad game alongside Farhad. Instead of kicking someone this young when he is down, we may be better off looking at the facts in the right light, and help him stand up and do better.

S*** happens you know. One game or a bad patch or two doesn't mean he cannot do better than the very best we have seen from him already.

[Miraz]

He brings consistency in the late middle order, his batting is much more assuring than many top order batsmen and his bowling is better than other all-rounders except Shakib. (Farhad, Alok etc..).

He played a wonderful supporting role yesterday. He probably could have scored 5-10 runs more, but if he didn't play sensibly it would have been difficult for Alok to play freely. Partnership matters in cricket.

[Morpheous]

I completely agree with Rifat.....this is totally a Useless Thread. You are just Judging Riyadh 1 Game.....He is a Very good Late Middle Order Batsman who brings Consistancy. I saw him playing some good Innings. So Its a Injustice to him just saying that he is not valuable

[crikfreak]

until yesterday. riyad has played pretty well.. i think he could've got a few more runs in the death overs.. but i didn't mind.. alok was firing in the other end.. he had to play a supporting role.. he did tht well.. and in the end.. where he was just cocsuming balls before giving strike to alok.. dunno what to say about tht.. if he was being selfish.. he should change gis attitude.. selfishness will not work in a team game..

[KnightBD]

Don't worry. If Kapali plays another good knock in this Asia Cup, he will have a place in the XI in the next Series. So Mahmudullah has to make way for our beloved Sakib, when he returns after exams.

[arafath79]

Thanks to Mahmudulla for contributing in BD cricket with both bat and bowl but not with fielding I guess. Both Farhad and Mahdullah missed the vital catches which helped India to take the match away from Bangladesh.

Vital catch misser jonno Mahmudulla k jayga moto bhora dita hobe jate porobortita catch ektao miss na kora .

[Rabz]

I thought Riyad was a breathe of fresh air in the team, one of the best find of late.

As Miraz bhai said earlier, he brings more assurance in the lower order and someone you can definitely count on to carry on in the later stages of the innings. He is someone who holds it together for his partner to go on rampage.

Had he tried to do a Kapali himself yesterday and gone out to some silly shot, there was no guarantee that Farhad or Mash could have stayed to partner Kapali till the end.

Judging by Farhad luck last night, i bet he would have been gone quickly and Mash, well, its a gamble. A gamble too risky to sacrifice his own wicket. Had he gone out cheaply, we would be all questining his abilities to play sensibly and building on partnership.

His bowling, even though nothing special at the moment, gives us a much needed variety. If he works hard, i believe his bowling would be much more supporting and helpful in the long run.

He is also a good fielder, despite that one dropped catch, which itself would have been a very good attempt if he could hold on to it.

Last but most importantly, his presence in the team brings an added pressure on the other allrounders to perform. Kapalis's knock yesterday was nothing but a desperation. With Aftab recovering soon from his injuries and Sakib finishing his exams, along with a decent enough performance of Riyad,Alok knew he needed to do something out of the ordinary to make any mark and to have any chance to stay in the team.

And the result was that superb knock and turn on the heat to Riyad.
When the players starts to fight for their own right to stay in the team, and by fight i mean in a good constructive way thru performing, its only going to help the team as a whole.

So, what does Riyad brings in the team?
He brings variety, stability and urgency in the team.

[sonarbangla]

lol so many talents on the time is also a problem eh.

[sonarbangla]

Originally Posted by taklima_naj
I dont understand why you guys dont consider mehrab jr as on opener instead of nazim, shahriar or junaid, he could be handy as a bowler as well.

the way he fielded last night.. i don think he will get included on first 15 starting next tour. lol

[sonarbangla]

our ODI team should be:

Tamim
Mushfiq
riad
Rakibul
Sakib
Ashraful
Aftab / Nazim
Alok [I still consider him as a leggi]
Mashrafee
Razzak
Russel

Farhad (sub)

then we have bowling options:

Mashrafee
Russel
Razzak
Sakib
Alok + Riad + Aftab = 10 over