Dream Team 2012: Just a few steps away!

[jisaan]

The performance of Bangladesh in the recently concluded Asia Cup has brought immense joy to its cricket crazy people who have been long-starved off a good showing at the world level. Perhaps those dreamy days of 2007 world cup was the 1^st instance when Bangladesh, as a team, caught the eyes of the pundits with its authoritative performance against the likes of India, top favorits of the tournament, & South Africa, world no. 1 in the official rankings at that time. The 2011 world cup was a rather disappointing affair though. Bangladesh lost the battle to qualify for the quarterfinals to England on the basis of net run rate including two massive defeats in the hands of South Africa & the West Indies, getting all-out for 78 & 58 respectively. In between, Bangladesh had one big series win (4-0) over the Kiwis. And only a while back, almost gave the West Indies a taste of their own medicine when they bundled them out for a paltry 61 in the ODI series. Even before the Asia cup, Bangldesh fought hard with the high-flying Pakistanis in both the One Dayers & the Test series and could have won at least one ODI had the umpiring blunders didn’t thwarted their chase of a lowly score. Amidst all those wins & losses and, more importantly, heart-out fights, Bangladesh were getting stronger on the sly. And there couldn’t have been a better stage than the Asia Cup to show that how well they were prepared to face the world. fficeffice" />
The opener against Pakistan came as a surprise to many. Very few would’ve given them a chance against the batting-heavy mighty Indians. But, by the time, they were taking the field against the Lankans, very few gave their opponents too much of a chance! How things took a dramatic U-turn within a week! And in the finals, they gave the Pakistanis the scare of their life, again. Thus the latest cricketing myth of modern time has been scripted in the heats of March 2012.
But what made that possible? Is it the blessings of BPL? Is it the advantage of home conditions? Or, is it that illusive ‘nucleus’ that was advocated by Dav Whatmore to Jamie Siddons to, current national coach, Suart Law? May be it is a mixture of all.
Just look back a bit. The names Tamim, Shakib, Nasir, Mashrafe & Mushfiq were everywhere In the tournament. Razzaq, Nazmul & Jahurul played the supporting role wonderfully. But all were not as rosy for Bangladesh. Main strike bowler Rubel had been struggling with his prolonged injury. Another strike bowler Shafiul joined the list after the 2^nd match. They had to suffer badly in that department after Shahadat got plundered in all but one game of the tournament. Many people would attribute Bangladesh’s defeat in the finals to his 19-run final over which is, harsh but, true to some extent.
That leads to the obvious question. How far away is Bangladesh from finding its dream team for at least the next one year or two? After years of dominance, left-handers have started to give way to the right-handers in Bangladesh top & middle order which may be a welcome change at the end of the day. A combination of right & left handers has always been a good challenge for the opponents. Imrul’s loss of form coupled with Nazim’s dream run against the touring Pakistanis prompted the team management to go for Tamim-Nazim opening pair. In the 1^st match, it looked good. Tamim was fighting with several off the field issues. Hence he was not his usual self. Nazim grabbed this opportunity and simply blasted away to thirty which underlined a lot of promise. Unfortunately, he lost his confidence after a bad outing against India which reached its nadir in the final. Frankly speaking, I would love to give him another opportunity. Those shots against Umar Gul speak a lot about a player. He probably needs one or two good innings at the international level. The reason I like him is also because he seems to have the flare to dominate the opposition that will be of great help especially on the day when Tamim’s bat won’t click. In the past, we’ve seen how run scoring has suffered once Tamim got out cheaply even against weaker oppositions. Nazim can be trusted for the job. If he fails, then what? We’ve got Anamul Haque- the 19-year old prodigy who has been tipped as the next-big-thing of Bangladesh cricket for long. With 4 first class hundreds in 17 outings and a good BPL season, the kid’s oozing talent is pleasing for the eyes everytime he walks onto bat. Careful nurturing of this guy may yield unprecedented results to Bangladesh Cricket. Imrul Kayes may have taken the back seat for a long time.
The same may be said about Junaid Siddique. The big-hitting left hander lost his place due to his indifferent form. His mediocre fielding wouldn’t speak for him either. Junaid & Shahriar would be vying for a place at number three which looks safe at the hands of Jahurul Islam. Here is one guy who looks at ease both against pace and spin. He can take on the opposition when necessary, is an excellent fielder and has got good experience behind him. There is no point in looking beyond him at the moment. Nasir Hossain has been the greatest addition to Bangladesh cricket off late. His innings against Pakistan in the final may not be a true testimony of what he is capable of. But he has been termed as “super talented” and not for nothing. He bowls offspin. He bowls medium pace. His fielding is as good as anybody in the world. And in the batting, he has the temperament and all the shots in the book. Not for nothing this lad is fondly known as “right-handed Shakib”. The main complaint against him could be his bowling. Many believe that he is much more capable with the ball. May be a few good spells will finally make him the “right-handed Shakib”. Irrespective of what happens to his bowling, Nasir is destined to form the backbone of Bangladesh batting alongwith Tamim, Shakib & Mushfiq in the coming days.
The certain weaklink in Bangladesh batting lineup is the vice-captain Mahmudullah. He is a one-dimensional player. He can hardly accelerate and only comes good when the team is not under the pressure of high run rate. It was a painful sight to see him struggling for big hits in the final stages of the Asia Cup 2012. Unless he has learnt to change gears with changing situations, Bangladesh have to look forward for a better option in coming days. Little Mominul Haque seems to have it all. He is a tremendous hitter and can play longer innings when required.
Asia Cup also saw the return of Mashrafe for the umpteenth time from injury. And he came back with a bang. With his accuracy & control, he was easily one of the best bowlers of the tournament. It is because of him that Bangladesh didn’t feel the absence of Rubel & Shafiul that much. Mashrafe in the lower order can also be very handy with the bat. Shafiul had the same ability too. But his batting took a nose dive after his unbeaten 24 saw Bangladesh beat England in the world cup. Afterwards, he never reached 10 in any of his innings. His long-time bowling partner Rubel is another nightmare of a batsman. His first & only double digit score in the ODIs came in the last match he played so far. Batting apart, both of them are very good pacers by our standards. Situations would have been worse had Nazmul not rose up to the occasion. He formed a perfect pair with Mashrafe and it will be unjust to leave him out of the side like the past. After the Asia Cup, Shahadat’s one day dreams, at least, could be over for a long time and rightfully so. If Bangladesh has to play with 3 pacers it should be Mashrafe, Nazmul & either Shafiul or Rubel. Until the latter two are back from injury, they would be better off experimenting with Abul Hasan. He has some raw pace (bowls around 140kph) & has some good slower deliveries. With experience, he may well be vying for a lead role in the bowling lineup sooner or later. Even unseen Alamin Hossain, for his accuracy, would be a much better choice rather than erratic Shahadat. The selectors may even opt to go back to left-arm seamer Syed Rasel to add variety to the attack. Whatever it is, next selection meeting would be a difficult one for the selectors to find a proper candidate for the pace bowling department.
Nothing so with the spinners though. Abdur Razzak has given a good account of himself in the Asia Cup. His form was a big worry for Bangladesh for the major part of the last 2 years. Now he too has found his old form back. The way he bowled against the most competent batsmen in the the world against spin bowling (Indo-Pak-Lankans) is a dream for any bowler. Mashrafe & Abdur Razzak proved why once Sunil Gavaskar said, “Form is temporary, class is permanent”. Therefore, despite being in top form, Elias Sunny has to watch the whole of Asia Cup from the side bench. But, as a backup, he & Sohrawardy can claim their places on any given day.
I was shocked to see Sohrawardy scrapped off his central contract. He definitely has the quality to serve us & survive in international cricket for lot many days.
As the things stand right now, Bangladesh is not far away from getting a dream team for the next 2 years. Most of the players are in their early or mid-twenties. Which means, when they will come out “all guns blazing” (as Ravi Shastri would say), Bangladesh would be a very potent force in world cricket.
A brief look at the prospective dream team:
Tamim, Nazim/Anamul, Jahurul, Nasir, Shakib, Mushfiq, Mahmudullah/Mominul, Mashrafe, Razzak/Elias, Shafiul/Rubel, Nazmul.

[wiseshah]

i think imrul kayes deserve to be in ODI. he has done well enough. one or 2 series bad performance shouldnt kick him out from future team plus he is in BCCB's good book. check his A contract.

[kalpurush]

Hay hay, amader ashraful kuthay gelo!?

[Night_wolf]

Originally Posted by kalpurush
Hay hay, amader ashraful kuthay gelo!?

haha..title says dream team,Not nightmare

[Equinox]

Not my 'dream team' by any means but the best ODI XI available to us at this moment in time:

Tamim
Imrul
Jahirul
Shakib
Mushfiq+*
Riyad
Nasir
Mashrafe
Razzak
Nazmul
Rubel/Elias (depending on pitch)

Don't want to rush Anamul/Mominul. They need one year of solid cricket outside of the national team before being introduced into international cricket. They'd still train with and be part of the squad though.

[zinatf]

Originally Posted by Equinox
Not my 'dream team' by any means but the best ODI XI available to us at this moment in time:

Tamim
Imrul
Jahirul
Shakib
Mushfiq+*
Riyad
Nasir
Mashrafe
Razzak
Nazmul
Rubel/Elias (depending on pitch)

Don't want to rush Anamul/Mominul. They need one year of solid cricket outside of the national team before being introduced into international cricket. They'd still train with and be part of the squad though.

I second with you. It's to early to say anything about Anamul, no doubt he's talented, but he needs to debut first and prove himself that he is here to stay.....
That's Jahurul btw

[jisaan]

Originally Posted by wiseshah
i think imrul kayes deserve to be in ODI. he has done well enough. one or 2 series bad performance shouldnt kick him out from future team plus he is in BCCB's good book. check his A contract.

his inablity to accelerate, esp. when tamim fails, limits his future with bangladesh team.
to be a world class team, we need someone who can take the attack to the opposition if & when reqd.
i hv got very strong reasons/proof to doubt his abilities.

[Navo]

But Jisaan, it's important to remember that Imrul isn't that old either. Players should be given a chance to redeem themselves and Imrul has been solid in the DPL and against the England Lions recently. Players need to be encouraged to learn from their mistakes and prove that they have done so. If we don't do this we'll be binning most of our players and trying the next 'fresh talent' every 30-40 international matches.

Just like most players are not Nasir and can't take to the international level quickly (esp. in BD), they're also not all like Ash and it is likely they will learn from their mistakes if given the opportunity.

[jisaan]

Originally Posted by Equinox
Not my 'dream team' by any means but the best ODI XI available to us at this moment in time:

Tamim
Imrul
Jahirul
Shakib
Mushfiq+*
Riyad
Nasir
Mashrafe
Razzak
Nazmul
Rubel/Elias (depending on pitch)

Don't want to rush Anamul/Mominul. They need one year of solid cricket outside of the national team before being introduced into international cricket. They'd still train with and be part of the squad though.

Dream team for 2012 and may be the next, at best.

[MohammedC]

I would like to see Anamul touring Zimbabwe with the national team. But not in the playing eleven if all the players are fit. And he should make his debut in home series during October.

[Rifat]

I beg to differ on Anamul Haque. I think He is ready Alhamdulillah!
Otherwise, Very solid XI Equinox.

Although I also wouldn't mind if Anamul debuts a little bit later like Late 2012/early 2013 as long as BCB continues to train him and select him in the next tours and He should definitely debut in T20 World Cup.

[deshimon]

It isn't proper time to select Anamul in 'Dream Team' because he never played in national team. But why not Imrul Kayes in the list.

[crikss]

C'mon....without Ashraful it's impossible to build a dream team

[fuadomar]

Someone left Shakib(Tamim has 30 go while Shakib has 29), lolz!

[tiger_army]

Imrul or even big Z is far better then Nazim...and Anamul-Mominul cant be in a dream team considering they never played in international level.. you cant judge them by seeing some BPL innings and domestic performance. In that case you have to include Ash. And seriously who are those persons who didnt include Shak and mash in their list...amazing!!!

[shajib14]

I think its one of the member of other country who left Shak, Mash out of the team for their own interest.

[salu]

team for 50
tamim
nafeez
ashraful
sakib
nasir
rahim
riyad
mash
raz
rubel
shafiul
imrul
omi
naz
elias
nafeez
ashraful
sakib
nasir
rahim
riyad
mash
raz
rubel
shafiul
imrul
omi
naz
elias

[salu]

sorry, team is 15...it is showing double.. team is upto elias.

[salu]

team for 20
tamim
imrul
ashraful
sakib
nasir
rahim
nayeem
riyad
mash
raz
shafiul
junayed
omi
naz
elias

[salu]

team for test
tamim
nafees
ashraful
nasir
sakib
rahim
riyad
mash
enam
rubel
rajib
junayed
omi
suvo
shafiul

[lamisa]

it's a good idea to debut anamul against zimbabwe. the presure will be less and he will be free to play his own game

[jamal451230]

yeah we already of world class player like tamim , sakib , mahmudullah , masraffie . razzak , just need a few more player that we can depend more highly , than we will be more stronger than ever , but i think musfiqur as a captain just doesnt look perfect , mahmudullah will be best replacement for captain, i rally have doubt tamim and sakib ever listened to him

[Gowza]

anamul should debut in the next series regardless who it is against imo. should he be in a dream team? why can't he be? it's not an all time XI....it's a dream team made up of the players we personally would like to have in the team. if it was an all time team then anamul shouldn't be there since he's never played an international match.

[Isnaad]

Someone voted for ONLY Tamim Iqbal and thus Shakib n Nasir are lagging behind by that one vote.

[jisaan]

Originally Posted by Isnaad
Someone voted for ONLY Tamim Iqbal and thus Shakib n Nasir are lagging behind by that one vote.

the 24th voter voted for tamim only....