New journey with old problems

Shakib Al Hasan will begin his third stint as the Bangladesh Test captain today, but will be facing the same old problems that the Tigers have been facing for a long time.

Injury is part and parcel of any sport, and once again, Bangladesh suffered a last-moment omission. Yasir Ali, who was considered the replacement for Mushfiqur Rahim, is out of the Test series due to a back injury.

Mushfiq has been one of the most consistent batsmen in the Bangladesh team for the last couple of years. He scored back-to-back centuries against Sri Lanka in the last Test series, but he is not playing against West Indies as he decided to perform Hajj this year.

Yasir, after his journeyman years, got a regular spot in the playing XI but an injury forced him out. Sometimes he was benched due to the team combination, but in West Indies, he was almost certain to fill in for Mushfiq, but his back injury denied him.

Therefore, the inclusion of Nurul Hasan looks obvious in the playing XI as a batsman. He also appeared as the concussion substitute for Yasir when he was hit in the head in his debut Test against Pakistan in November.

Batting has been an issue for Bangladesh as the top-order is failing to give a start almost regularly. In the last Test against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh were 24-5 in the first innings and 53-5 in the second.

In the last away series in South Africa, Bangladesh were all-out for 80 runs in their second innings in the second Test, after they were all-out for 53 runs in the second innings of the first Test.

Shakib might be a bit hopeful to see his former deputy Tamim Iqbal getting few runs in the practice match, but at the same time, he should be worried to see his predecessor Mominul Haque getting out cheaply in both innings.

Mominul stepped down from captaincy to focus on his batting, but nothing seems changed as he was out for 0 and four in the practice match against CWI President’s XI.

Nothing will change magically after Shakib’s appointment, but the all-rounder could inspire his teammates and lead by example, which he naturally does.

Coach Russel Domingo is happy after the practice match as Tamim and Najmul Hossain Shanto got a few runs against the local side. But the real test will be much tougher as the Caribbean pacers pack led by Alzaari Joseph could be much more lethal.

West Indies have already announced their 12-member team for the first Test starting today in Antigua, where they picked Jayden Seals and uncapped Anderson Phillipp along with all-rounder Kyle Mayers, who got an emphatic double century against Bangladesh in February 2021.

Kraigg Brathwaite, captain of the West Indies, told the media on Wednesday that they are not taking the Test series lightly.

“We had a camp of 5-6 days. The guys did hard work in the nets. I am very happy with the intensity shown. We are playing against Bangladesh; we can’t take it lightly. Pitches are good, and we are really looking forward to doing well,” he said in a short video message posted on the Cricket West Indies website.

Kraigg was in tremendous form when Bangladesh visited the Caribbeans last time in 2018, scoring centuries in both Tests. Under his leadership, West Indies defeated England 1-0 in the three-Test series.

So, both the teams are meeting with two different experiences. Bangladesh after losing 1-0 against a new-look Sri Lanka at home will be taking on the revamped West Indies side, which defeated England at home and proved that their Test side is no less than their white-ball teams.

Shakib, as the captain and most consistent performer of the team, has many bases to cover.