Last Updated on 3 years by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: Bangladesh could open with Mushfiqur Rahim in Asia Cup | Mushfiqur Rahim may open in the 2022 Asia Cup
Bangladesh might shake-up their batting lineup by opening with Mushfiqur Rahim in the upcoming Asia Cup. The team management is reportedly unwilling to shift Afif Hossain away from the number four slot. Accordingly, they will try and accommodate Mushfiqur at the top in the absence of the injured Liton Das.
Anamul Haque and Parvez Hossain are the other couple of opening options picked in the team’s 17-member squad for the tournament. Apparently, Nayeem Sheikh and Soumya Sarkar were not considered for the opener’s slot due to their drawbacks against spin bowling. Meanwhile, Mushfiqur’s proficiency against both pacers and spinners make him the ideal fit for the position in the eyes of the think-tank.
Thinking of promoting Mushfiqur in the Asia Cup due to experience – Bangladesh team director
“We are thinking of promoting Mushfiqur at the top in the Asia Cup because he is vastly experienced in handling spin and pace and we feel he can be a very good option,” Bangladesh team director Khaled Mahmud was quoted in a report by Cricbuzz.
He added, “We had the option of picking Nayeem and Soumya but didn’t go for them as their ability to handle spin is not that great. Parvez is there but we need to see whether he can handle spinners like Mujeeb or Rashid or not.”
Mushfiqur has a partly average of 19.93 at a strike rate of 115.53 across 91 T20I innings. He has opened the batting only once and scored merely five runs in that particular match against Afghanistan. However, he boasts of a comparatively better scoring rate, i.e., 146.15, in the four matches that he has batted at number three. There is a general consensus that his abilities will be best optimised at the opening slot and the management might explore that option in order to reinvigorate their fortunes in the T20 format.
“If we feel that Mushfiqur looks to be the best option we might go with him and I think it can be a good move for him as well considering he will be getting 120 balls and if he gets going from the start, we are likely to post a big total on the board,” Mahmud further told the aforementioned publication.
Afif Hossain expected to bat at number four
Further, the management is insistent on sticking with Afif Hossain at the two-down position. The 22-year-old averages 31.20 at a strike rate of 108.33 in the six innings that he has batted at number four in T20Is. The team is harbouring the hope that Afif can replicate his recent form coupled with his exploits in the ODI format to make the spot his own in the coming T20Is.
“We are thinking Afif in a specific role and he is a dynamo. I think he is very confident and really played well in the last two series and even batted well in the ODIs. We want to give Afif his place because he is our future,” Mahmud explained the rationale behind the thought process.
