Who will face the axe in St Lucia?

As Anamul Haque is set to come into the Bangladesh XI for their second Test against West Indies in St Lucia, Bangladesh have a big question pondering as to who the right-handed batsmen will replace.

Both Mominul Haque and Najmul Hossain Shanto are candidates to face the axe considering their recent form, but a lack of options for Bangladesh will see only one being the casualty.

Mominul, who stepped down from Test captaincy before this series to focus on his batting, has not reached double figures in his last 10 Test innings. In the first Test at Antigua, he was gone for a duck in the first innings, and after getting a streaky boundary off an inside edge in the second, got out being trapped LBW for four.

While Najmul has a recent record somewhat a tad better, his numbers are very poor too. He last hit a fifty 11 innings ago and has failed to reach double digits in five out of his last seven innings.

In 2022, Najmul has 246 runs in 13 innings, averaging 18.92. Mominul averages 13.83 as he has scored only 166 runs in the same number of innings.

Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan said during the first Test that players would need to perform to be picked and later hinted at giving Mominul a break.

“I have no explanation for the batting failure. I don’t know if somebody does. Generally, the coach and captain have it easy. If someone doesn’t perform, we drop them. The batsmen must take responsibility and do their job,” he said after the first day of the Antigua Test.

After the match, Shakib said, “It is tough for me to say, but I speak to him [Mominul] regularly, and we will talk again. If he thinks he needs a break, it can happen. It is not ideal to take a decision just after a match.”

While Anamul was initially called up for the white-ball formats after his stellar campaign in the Dhaka Premier League, where he scored record-breaking 1138 runs, he was added to the Test squad after Yasir Ali Chowdhury was out with a back injury.

In the 2022 Bangladesh Cricket League, Anamul scored 210 runs in six innings at an average of 35.00, hitting a couple of fifties. In the National Cricket League’s 2021-22 season, Anamul only scored 186 runs in nine innings at an average of 23.25, going past fifty twice.

Anamul coincidentally played his last Test in St Lucia eight years ago and has the chance to return to the Test fray at the same venue on Friday.

“I have been called up to the Test side after eight years. This is a big opportunity to show that I love Test cricket. I am excited, and will follow the process which I have been following for so long. I don’t want to change anything now,” he said on Thursday.

Anamul added that it was important to stop the Tigers’ early collapses.

“I want to give my best if I get the opportunity. It is not important who is playing, but it’s important to stop the early fall of wickets,” the right-handed batsman said.

While Anamul’s inclusion is certain after one collapse after another, who will be dropped is yet to be seen. It might just turn out to be Najmul, with Bangladesh keeping faith in Mominul for one last time.