Can Anamul make his comeback count?

Anamul Haque made his comeback to the Bangladesh Twenty20 team after nearly seven years but could not make an impressive start against West Indies in the first T20I at Dominica on Saturday.

The batsman last played a T20I for Bangladesh in November 2015 against Zimbabwe at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium Mirpur where he scored 47 runs from 51 balls before getting run-out.

In his comeback innings, Anamul scored 16 runs from 10 deliveries, before being trapped Leg Before Wicket by Obed McCoy.

Anamul was initially picked for the white-ball formats in the West Indies tour but the injury of Yasir Ali opened the door for him to get a call for the Test side as well.

He returned to the Test side after eight years in the second Test of the series at St Lucia, he looked promising but could not manage more than 23 and four runs respectively in both the innings.

Since his reappearance in the national team, Anamul has played three innings and in all three times, he has dismissed LBW where he took review every single time but could not survive.

In the St Lucia Test, he was hit in the front pad by a delivery from Anderson Philip in the first innings and the umpire signalled out but Anamul went for a review which could not overturn the decision.

In the second inning, the bowler was Kemar Roach who trapped Anamul LBW and the batsman went for the DRS but that could not save him from getting out.

In the first T20I against West Indies, Anamul survives a few close calls where he edged and miscued but could not ride on his luck for a long time.

Once again, he was hit on the pads and the umpire signalled him out, Anamul took the review but could not save himself as the ball was clearly hitting the timber.

A former opener, who requested anonymity told The Business Post that Anamul’s habit of taking reviews might not be out of desperation,

“I don’t think he was very desperate. In the first T20I, he was in a position (when the ball hit the pad) from where it looked like the ball could miss the leg stump or pitched outside leg”, he said on Sunday.

“In the Test matches, the wicket was tricky as it had uneven bounce. The balls were rising suddenly and getting lower. So, he took his chances and DRS is allowed in the game why shouldn’t he?”, added the former opener.

Since the pandemic broke out, ICC has allowed three DRS calls per side in each innings in Test matches and two in One Day Internationals and T2OIs.

Anamul made his comebacks in Test and T2OI side after a long time but can he keep his place? The former opener expressed his doubt considering his previous opportunities,

“After Anamul scored more than a thousand runs, many people said that he must be immediately drafted into the national team but I was not in favour of this whim. If we could send him to the West Indies with the A team and see how he does there, after that we could call him again”, he said.

“There is a big gap between the standards of international cricket and our domestic cricket, even in a home series we could try him but West Indies is a tough opposition in their own conditions. Unlucky for him”, added the former national cricketer.

Bangladesh national team head coach Russel Domingo is seeing him in action for the first time in this tour and he is not quite overwhelmed about

Anamul, “He came into the Test side and then in the T2O side, We would really like to see him. Good technique…looks to score…good fielder. But he needs to score”, Domingo said after the first T2O in Dominica.