Given that just two reputable openers were named to the roster for the forthcoming Asia Cup, which would be played in a T20 format, Bangladesh team management considered a temporary starting partnership.
Anamul Haque Bijoy and Parvez Emon, two well-known openers, did not perform as well as the team management had hoped, which left them with little guarantee of making the starting XI.
Basically, a significant hole was left in the tournament’s opening slot due to the injuries and poor play of a few crucial players.
“There are two recognized openers in the squad in Bijoy and Emon but there are some who opened the innings in local cricket. It might be Mushfiqur Rahim or Shakib Al Hasan. May be we can try with Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mahedi Hasan also. So we have so many options to ponder for the Asia Cup,” team director Khaled Mahmud Sujon said here today when his attention was drawn to the opening pair of the Bangladesh team.
In a single international cricket match, Shakib Al Hasan had the chance to start the innings against the West Indies last year at the T20 World Cup. After 367 matches in his international career, he began the innings but only managed to score nine. He only ever did it to start an inning.
However, Mushfiqur has never started an opening game in his career. However, Mirazand Mahedi Hasan has the credentials to start the game. In truth, Mahedi virtually always started the inning when playing domestically in the shortest format of the game.
In the three-match series against Zimbabwe, the team has a number of openers, but the Asia Cup squad has the opposite picture. Although there are many options for the middle order, no additional opener has been kept in the team. For this, the team management has to think of alternatives.
“It’s not that we are not thinking about alternatives but no point of thinking options if everything goes according to plan,” Mahmud added.
In the last Asia Cup, which was held in the ODI format, when Bangladesh’s opening pair failed consecutively, captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza opened the final game against India with Liton Das and Mehidy Hasan Miraz and the decision proved to be a masterstroke as the pair shared a hundred plus runs partnership. Bangladesh eventually lost the game but not before putting up a huge fight against the mighty Indians.
