Sujon's future looks dark

[fwullah]

Hi guys, from the Bangladesher Khela's report, it has been unofficially confirmed that Sujon retains his place in the ODI squad for the upcoming WI tour.

We all know that his future is dark if he consistently under-performs.

Here is one look at his future in the short run:-

Bangladesh's next tours are like this:

1. Asia Cup in SL - conditions not suitable for Sujon's bowling
2. NZ tour of BD - conditions not suitable for Sujon's bowling
3. SL tour of BD - conditions not suitable for Sujon's bowling
4. Possibly IND tour of BD - conditions not suitable for Sujon's bowling AND/OR,
Possibly BD tour of IND during April 2005 - conditions unsuitable for Sujon's bowling
5.ZIM tour of BD - conditions not suitable for Sujon's bowling

In all the 5 tours above, I don't see how Sujon can last too long. What do you reckon? I believe that in all the above 5 tours, it is not possible for either the team management or the selectors to continue with Sujon much longer.

So my conclusion is that if Sujon is to play, we'll be left out with only one specialist spinner in the side, and 2 seamers (in Sujon and Mushfique) which wil considerably weaken our bowling attack.

In fact, my bet is (I am not betting for money or anything, only my reputation on this board, as a keen follower of Bangladesh cricket) that Sujon could be selected last for the Asia Cup, and then either he will retire or will be dropped.

[Carte Blanche]

What happened to your President post on the Official Sujon Bandwagon?

Anyway, Sujon is just a burden to the side. Now one can argue saying that he holds the best ODI bowling record for BD bowlers currently. Well, that he does. If you play 20 games, you ought to perform well in at least 2/3 of them. But consistency-wise, he simply is incompetent. I am not saying that other players in the team are world-class, or very prolific. But Sujon simply is eating up a spot we could easily afford to play a genuine seamer/spinner instead. His future has been looking dark for almost 8 months now. Things haven't changed much, apart from his axe from the test squad. We just don't need him. The old fella has done enough, thank you for that. Time for some fresh meat.

[fwullah]

What happened to your President post on the Official Sujon Bandwagon?

Hah, Hah - that's a nice one!

However, I haven't changed my mind about him, and I still think that he can force his position in the team upto as long as the 2007 world cup, given that he makes the necessary adjustments in his own game-play, like cut down his pace (his current medium-medium pace) into a real slow medium pace like Gavin Larsen. Until and unless he does that, he's quite ineffective as a player, and will be dropped as of this season, like I said in the top thread.

Anyway, as long as he is not doing that, I disagree with you only on the following fact:

Things haven't changed much, apart from his axe from the test squad.

Things have changed. We have won the one match against Zimbabwe, where Sujon's availability in the team helped, along with the help of the rest of the team members.

[billah]

A very composed response fw. Nicely put.

[Zephaniah]

fwullah. Your comments made me realise Sujan's future is not entirely dark, more like a zebra skin or atleast few shiny bits in the dark. May be it's not a bad idea for him to start bowling off-spin as we lack quality in that department. It's a shame that we need to rely on players who perform once in a blue moon.

Nice analysis. Good stuff.

[rafiq]

I have to disagree. I think Sujon's future is as bright as that of a new born baby.

By now, it would seem that no depth of analysis can predict the exact date of Sujon's departure. All who have tried have been proven wrong, including myself.

As for his game, you want him to slow down his pace even further? Sujon is effective when he bowls a good line and length on the right pitch. Uncontrolled raw pace has not been a problem, he does not have a lot of wayward deliveries does he? He should be at his best on slower bangladeshi pitches in my opinion.

Here's to Sujon lasting another decade...

[fwullah]

When the idea of real slow medium pace came into my mind, I was thinking about Minhazul Abedin Nannu's bowling during the world cup 1999.

Before that, during '97/'98, I saw Nannu bowling at the same pace as Sujon does now. Then suddenly after a break of more than 6 months, when Nannu didn't play, I suddenly saw him bowling this REALLY REALLY slow balls, bowling proper line & length, but really slow. I guess most of you still remember it.

However, it does take some 'off' time, and I am not sure whether Sujon thinks of himself as a batsman who can bowl a bit, which Nannu used to believe, and I'm also not sure whether Sujon has Nannu's brains to work on his bowling like Nannu.

[rafiq]

ok he could bowl even slower perhaps (although at that point maybe he should just roll the ball along the pitch). How does bowling slower get him more wickets if he is already bowling very slow but at the same time maintining line and length?

[Edited on 17-4-2004 by rafiq]