There is no doubt about Mushfiqur Rahim’s importance to Bangladesh as a batsman, but concerns over his wicketkeeping and tactics resurfaced in Hyderabad
Mohammad Isam in Hyderabad11-Feb-2017In the 118th over of India’s innings, Wriddhiman Saha ventured a long way out of his crease to blast Taijul Islam but missed the ball. Mushfiqur Rahim completed the stumping, so Saha’s confident nod after the stumps were broken looked rather out of place. Moments later, it was revealed that the Bangladesh captain had missed the stumps on his first two attempts, and by the time he had removed the bails, Saha was safe.India were 466 for 4, with Saha on 4, at the time. The ball had just started to turn, and for the first time since the first hour of the Test, Bangladesh had begun to exercise some control on the run rate. After his reprieve, Saha went on to score his second Test century and India batted another 48.5 overs and added 221 runs.There is no doubt that Mushfiqur is integral to Bangladesh’s plans as a batsman. He has the proven quality of a dependable middle-order player, one who takes great care to get his team into strong positions and is their go-to man when the side is in trouble. The first two days of the Hyderabad Test, though, have put his decline as a wicketkeeper and captain in the spotlight.On the first morning of the Test, an edge from Cheteshwar Pujara off seamer Kamrul Islam Rabbi fell short of Soumya Sarkar at first slip. It was Mushfiqur’s catch because the ball was never going to carry to slip. Elite wicketkeepers convert these half chances. Then came the fluffed stumping, which could become a pivotal moment for the Bangladesh captain.There were more examples of Mushfiqur’s recent struggles behind the stumps in the ODI series against Afghanistan last September. He missed catches at different stages of the three games and a stumping, which hurt Bangladesh in a two-wicket defeat in the second ODI.Mushfiqur’s main skill has always been his batting, the reason he was picked ahead of Khaled Mashud for the 2007 World Cup. Bangladesh wanted a batsman who could keep, and to this day Mushfiqur has fit the mould.On the recent tour of New Zealand, he underlined his importance in that role. Until Mushfiqur was hit by a Neil Wagner bouncer in Wellington, New Zealand could not get the upper hand in the Test. Mushfiqur’s 159 in the first innings was a superb display of controlled aggression, and his 80-minute second innings, with a finger injury, was an example of pure grit. He had also repeatedly taken blows to his body.Grit alone isn’t enough for a captain, though. The ability to size up a match situation, balancing control and aggression, knowing what the bowlers are capable of and then getting it out of them, are all essential requisites in a leader.The first time India got away from Bangladesh after the early fall of KL Rahul was in the sixth and seventh overs of Kamrul’s first spell, when the bowler’s intensity was clearly down. Kamrul is no stranger to bowling long first-class spells, but to ask him to bowl a seventh over after a flaccid sixth showed rigidness.Against Virat Kohli, Mushfiqur persisted with aggressive fields when his bowlers were not reciprocating with controlled bowling. There were boundaries for the taking either side of the wicket. A captain at times is as good or bad as his bowlers, but Mushfiqur’s optimism was not in sync with his team’s abilities. When the grind was needed, Bangladesh were being generous with the field placements.Mushfiqur has also displayed the other extreme as captain. In the home series against Pakistan, for instance, Bangladesh played the first Test with the more defensive Shuvagata Hom instead of legspinner Jubair Hossain. In the Mirpur Test, on a pitch with some grass, Bangladesh picked only two frontline quicks in Mohammad Shahid and Shahadat Hossain. Shahid ended up bowling 41 overs after Shahadat was injured in the first over of the game.A year earlier, Mushfiqur had kept his main bowler Shakib Al Hasan out of the attack despite Sri Lanka slipping to 67 for 8 in the first ODI. By the time Shakib was brought back, Sri Lanka were 143 for 8. The theory was to not give the left-hand batsman Thisara Perera, who made 80 not out, a left-arm spinner’s angle – it is not always a sound plan and has cost Bangladesh in the past. Offspinners were bowled to Perera and he went after them easily. Catches also went down in that game as luck deserted an inflexible captain.In the light of such decisions, and Mushfiqur’s tendency not to adapt mid-session, look at events in the Test Bangladesh won against England more closely. In Mirpur, on the instructions of coach Chandika Hathurusingha, Bangladesh were led by Tamim Iqbal in the session in which they sealed their seminal Test win.Mushfiqur and Hathurusingha later explained that the senior players had been told to step up, but it was evident that Tamim and Shakib were calling the shots at a crucial time in the match. The directions came because Hathurusingha had been disappointed with Bangladesh’s approach in the previous session.To look at specific instances and results alone can be a bit harsh on Mushfiqur. There is a reason why, before MS Dhoni, no wicketkeeper had captained in more than 18 Tests. Mushfiqur is No. 2 on that list with 25 matches. If anything, Mushfiqur’s burden is bigger than Dhoni’s was: as a batsman he is more integral to Bangladesh than Dhoni was to India, and he has had to lead a less seasoned side.Bangladesh are a team looking to take that next step in Test cricket, after having become competitive in limited-overs cricket. They need Mushfiqur the batsman, but perhaps it is time for fresher ideas from a captain. Being relieved of captaincy could rejuvenate his wicketkeeping too. With a series against Sri Lanka next month, it may be the right time to discuss Mushfiqur’s workload in the Test team.
