Misfiring Mahmudullah

Nothing seems to be going in the way of Bangladesh Twenty20 International skipper Mahmudullah Riyad as his performances with the bat have gone downhill and his captaincy has come under constant scrutiny.

Mahmudullah has not been able to find his touch with the bat despite getting ample opportunities to find his form in the middle.

To add to his misery, his captaincy has come under immense scrutiny, with his so-called match-ups, and safe tactical exploits as captain.

Whether it is his beloved longing for specific matchups or his inability to impact the game with his bat, Mahmudullah’s downward spiral seems to be a never-ending one.

Bangladesh lost their third T20I against the West Indies in Guyana by five wickets on Thursday.

The skipper was once again under the microscope for his batting frailties first and of course his stubbornness of sticking to the match-ups- bowling only left-arm spinners to right-handers and right-arm off-spinners to left-handed batsmen.

With the bat, Mahmudullah came in at five when the score was 99-3 after 12.5 overs were bowled.

He did end up stitching a 49-run partnership with Afif Hossain but his contribution in the stand was yet again a dismal 22 runs of 20 deliveries.

They struggled to accelerate towards the end of the innings with the West Indies spinners, especially Hayden Walsh (two for 25), proving effective in stemming the flow of runs.

The right-handed batsman had 7.1 overs to make a mark on the innings but seemed to be facing similar difficulties-rotating the strike, and discomfort in playing wrist spin.

The 37-year-old all-rounder hit two fours and a six but failed to leave an impact on the Tigers’ innings.

When it came to bowling, he refrained from bowling Shakib Al Hasan for 10 overs after the left-arm spinner gave away only four runs in the seventh over, picking up the wicket of Odean Smith in his very first over.

It could be read from the game that the skipper once again heavily relied on match-ups and decided not to bowl a left-arm spinner against two left-handed batsmen, Kyle Mayers and Nicolas Pooran, who were batting in the middle.

“The partnership between Mayers and Pooran was crucial. They took the game away from us. We should’ve stuck to our lines and made them hit against the wind and to the longer sides. We were 10-runs short. Our batting department has made their plans clear and bowling needs to improve,” Mahmudullah said in the post-match interview.

After the conclusion of the three-match ODI series, Bangladesh will head to Zimbabwe to play a complete white-ball series, three ODIs and T20Is.

Mahmudullah retired from Test cricket last year in Zimbabwe while playing in the second Test.

It remains to be seen how the current T20I skipper manages his side’s T20I woes.