Bangladesh bowlers finally demonstrated their strength when they bundled out the visiting Zimbabwe in the first match of five-match T20 series on Friday.
Held at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Tigers captain after winning the toss decided to field first and the bowlers justified the captain’s decision with bowling out Zimbabwe only for a paltry 124 runs.
Bangladesh captain used three pacers and two spinners when two off three fast bowlers, Taskin and Saifuddin blazed with their real power with taking three wickets each. Shoriful could not appear with his real performances when among two spinners, Mehidy Hassan Miraz claimed two wickets with economy rates, conceding 16 runs in his four overs spells.
But Rishad Hossain was not up to the mark when conceded 37 runs in four overs could not claim even a wicket.
Meanwhile, when Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced the 15-man squad against Zimbabwe series left-arm spinner Tanveer Islam was in the team. But he was not in the playing eleven due to combination. Might be after Shakib Al Hasan’s joining, there would be no problem, as he will play as a left-arm spinner and batsman in any combination.
Bangladesh have plenty of quality left-arm spinners in the team, like Shakib, Taijul, Nasum and Tanveer deserve to be in the playing XI, so it turns into something difficult for the selectors to choose the perfect one.
But Tigers have been waiting for a quality leg spinner for a long when after Alok Kapali, none could fill up the gap, though Zubair Hossain Likhan, Tanveer Haider and Aminul Islam Biplob came for very short time, as none of them could really stay for a long despite performing well at their beginning.
Rishad Hossain is the latest inclusion as a leg spinner in the team’s eleven. He looked a better option compared to others, as he is trying to satisfy and prove him as a perfect leg-break googly.
He made his T-20 debut against Ireland at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattagram just a year back on March 31, 2023. The leg-break googly played 10 matches and claimed six wickets so far but could not do well on Friday.
The bowler also made his room in the One Day International (ODI) team’s tour to New Zealand last December. But could not show his talent in bowling, though batted well with playing some big shots. It is another chance for him to move forward with proving his skill.
