What went wrong between Mahmudullah and Biplob?

After Bangladesh’s loss to Pakistan in the first match of the three-match Twenty20 international series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Friday, Aminul Islam Biplob’s inclusion in the side was questioned.

The leg-spinner, who was drafted into the XI for the first T20I, was not handed the ball till the last over, by when the game was all but gone with Pakistan requiring just two runs.

The seesaw game with Aminul did not happen just on Friday, rather, it has been going on since the World Cup. The young leggie went to the World Cup with the side as a travelling reserve. But after the preliminary stage at Oman, he was sent back for some mysterious reason which neither the team nor Bangladesh Cricket Board explained.

In a match where the XI was made after much chopping and changing, Bangladesh were on top with four wickets within the powerplay. But still, the leg-spinner was not brought in to bowl. And a partnership between Fakhar Zaman and Khushdil Shah settled Pakistan’s innings, allowing a flurry for the finish.

Mahmudullah himself bowled three overs, conceding 19 runs. And after the match, he said that it was because to left-handed batsmen, Fakhar and Khushdil, were at the crease.

“We planned to bowl him. But as there were two left-handers at the crease, I bowled myself,” he said.

It seemed like reinstating Bangladesh’s obsession with the left-handed batsman vs off-spinner matchups, which was visible in the World Cup.

In Bangladesh’s first match against Sri Lanka in the World Cup, Mahmudullah refused to use Shakib Al Hasan because there were two left-handed batsmen at the crease, despite Shakib picking up two wickets in his second over.

Questions about Mahmudullah’s captaincy are not just around Aminul. The Bangladesh skipper has been making blunders continuously, and the first T20I was just the latest in a long line.

He gave the crucial 19th over to youngster Shoriful Islam instead of Mustafizur Rahman, who was used in the 18th.

The role of Biplob in the team was unclear as Bangladesh could add Shamim Hossain instead of him to add some depth in the batting if Mahmudullah had no intention to give him the ball.

Mahmudullah, the only player from the ‘famous five’ of Bangladesh, who is playing this series, has not just his captaincy questioned. His batting form has been poor since his fifty vs Papua New Guinea, and that did not change against Pakistan either.

Bangladesh wanted a rejuvenated squad for this series and brought in six changes. But on the field, the captaincy seemed to follow the same old guard. If that doesn’t change, chopping and changing the side won’t do much help.