Mominul marks return with grace

2022 has not been kind to Mominul Haque. The left-handed batter, who started the year as the skipper leading Bangladesh to a historic Test win over New Zealand, was dropped from the red-ball side by the ending months appeared.

But it was hardly surprising. He removed himself from captaincy due to his lack of runs, a string of 10 single-digit scores including four ducks, and in West Indies earlier this year, the management had enough and benched him.

No runs in the domestic circuit or for Bangladesh A meant there was almost no way back for him. But as it happens in the cricketing fraternity of the country, everyone gets a chance due to someone else’s failure.

And Yasir Ali Chowdhury’s made way for Mominul in the Dhaka Test against India. With the chance, probably his last before getting thrown out of the squad altogether, Mominul managed to show his quality as he shined on a day the remainder of the batting lineup slumped and stuttered.

Mominul, upon his return, was jittery at the beginning as he failed to match the ball with the sweet spot of his bat, but as time went by, he managed to add that and picked up his first fifty in 12 innings.

Adding more to Mominul’s innings’ credentials is that he did it at number three, a position where his record is significantly worse compared to a step lower, his preferred one.

If Mominul was to play in this series, it was expected to see him at Chattogram as the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium is his favourite venue with seven centuries and an average of 63.42.

Bangladesh batting coach Jamie Siddons explained why he was not played in Chattogram.

“Mominul didn’t score over 10 runs in the four innings for Bangladesh A. We gave him a rest. We had to work on a few things in Chattogram. We gave him a bit of time to get back into the swing of things and forget about those failures. Get ready to play again. Our No 3 spot is a worry, so we put him in. It worked really today. He played fantastic,” he said.

The Australian coach also explained how he had been working with the left-handed batter.