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Tamim Iqbal and Mustafizur Rahman were among the top performers of the recently concluded Bangladesh Premier league but both the cricketers hardly could carry the form in the One-Day International series against Afghanistan.
Bangladesh have already sealed their three-match One-Day International series against Afghanistan with two wins from the first two matches, but are yet to find impact performances from skipper Tamim Iqbal and left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman.
Tamim came into this series with 407 runs in the bag in the Bangladesh Premier League, the third-highest in the tournament. But he has failed to replicate that form in this Afghanistan series, which is his last home series in a few months as he will not be playing in the upcoming Twenty20 Internationals against Afghanistan after taking at least a six-month break from the format and as Bangladesh’s next series is in South Africa.
His record at his home town Chattogram though has always been quite average, and that has continued in this series. Tamim is yet to score a ton at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium and has scored only 581 runs in 17 innings, including five fifties and a high score of 95, which came way back in 2010.
Since the start of the series, Tamim has looked vulnerable with his front foot movement, which Afghan seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi, Tamim’s teammate in the BPL for Minister Dhaka, exploited to trap him LBW in both matches with in-swinging deliveries for eight off eight balls and 12 off 24 balls respectively.
The left-handed opener hit a ton against Sylhet Sunrisers for Minister Dhaka at the same ground in his last trip to Chattogram when he was playing BPL, but for the national colours his performance is pretty average so far.
Before the ODI series against Afghanistan, Tamim last played for Bangladesh in July 2021. Later he made himself unavailable for the ICC T20 World Cup and also missed out the home series against Australia, New Zealand and Pakistan for injury.
He made a comeback to international cricket after a decent outing in BPL where he scored over 400 runs though his team failed to capitalize on his success.
But his comeback after six months was not something to relish as he scored only 20 runs in two innings.
Bangladesh batting consultant Jamie Siddons said that the Bangladesh skipper wants his front foot movement improved.
“Tamim wants to straighten up his front foot. It won’t happen really quickly, but we are talking about the long-term. If he doesn’t get out lbw, they will find it very hard to get him out. He will play a lot of runs. I can see his best cricket is still ahead of him,” Siddons had told the media.
If Tamim indeed needs some adjustment in his technique, then it’s likely that he will be vulnerable against Farooqi once again on Monday.
Tamim though looked adamant on scoring runs at his home ground in the final match of this series as he looked to work on his technique in the nets.
Despite Bangladesh having optional practice on days after the matches and Sunday, Tamim was present at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium and was seen speaking to Siddons for long periods of time regarding technical adjustments.
Mustafiz, on the other hand, came into the series as the highest wicket-taker of the BPL with 19 wickets, helping Comilla Victorians claim the title.
Though he has managed to take four wickets, those have had little impact on the result of the matches. Only one of his four wickets is of a top-order batsman, with his economy being over six in the second match.
Mustafiz has taken a different route in this series than Tamim thus far as he has been resting in all the days of optional practice since February 22. He arrived at practice on Monday but was not seen bowling. Rather, he sat at the dugout and chatted with team members.
In the ongoing series, Bangladesh have seen a different trend thus far, as neither their most successful batsman, Tamim, nor their strike bowler, Mustafiz, has shown up with the goods.
It was Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, and Liton Das who brought them their two wins, with contributions from Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, and Shoriful Islam.
After the first ODI, Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo had said he wanted better performances in the second match, which he got. But yet, it will be of major concern that Tamim and Mustafiz are yet to fully fire, and the Tigers will hope that they will do on Monday.
