Mahmudullah the calm head Bangladesh need

Cricket Worldwide

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Bangladesh have a lot to unpack ahead of the Chittagong Test against Sri Lanka, and the stand-in captain, Mahmudullah, taking stock of their predicament was not part of their Test plans five months ago.

Bangladesh are playing their first Test since being mauled in South Africa in October. It will also be their first home Test since Nathan Lyon spun a web on them last September. They have picked a total of six specialist spinners in the 16-man squad this time. That, of course, is because they are playing in spin-friendly Chittagong without Shakib Al Hasan, who would have led in Tests again after being handed the Test captaincy in December.

Seventeen-year old offspinner Nayeem Hasan has returned from New Zealand before the completion of Bangladesh’s campaign in the Under-19 World Cup. Abdur Razzak, 35, has returned after nearly four years during which he was reminded time and again that he would never return to the Test side. Tanbir Hayder and Sunzamul Islam were the first replacements for Shakib; Sunzamul makes sense since he has been in the ODI squad but Tanbir hasn’t done much since being dumped in New Zealand around a year ago.

Bangladesh also have Mosaddek Hossain back in the squad from a serious eye infection which kept him out of international matches since the Champions Trophy. He was sent to Bangkok for a check-up but the infection took a long time to go away. He will need a bit of time blending into Test cricket after nearly a year. The Test will also be Mushfiqur Rahim’s first after losing his captaincy. In fact, if Liton Das is picked as the wicketkeeper, Mushfiqur may be playing his first Test solely as a batsman since 2006.

It is clear that Bangladesh will need a calm head to tackle all of these things going on. Mahmudullah, despite his own trouble with form in the last 12 months, is the sort of presence the team needs at this crucial juncture. He feels that even without so much baggage, a team needs a cool head to take decisions during the course of a Test.

“I personally believe you have to take a lot of big decisions, so you have to be calm,” Mahmudullah said. “The more you are cool in the field, it makes decision making easier. So, I try to stay as calm as possible, even when I am captaining at the domestic level. I want to inspire the team with my performance. I am someone who takes things seriously when I am in my business. I support my team in every way possible – in a rude or nice way. We want to give something good to Bangladesh cricket.”

Mahmudullah wasn’t in Bangladesh’s Test squad after failing in the Galle Test last year. His axing ahead of the Colombo Test created a lot of ruckus in the Bangladesh dressing room with the team management in Sri Lanka wanting to send him back home but the BCB president Nazmul Hasan intervening to keep him with the Test squad, and retaining him in the ODI team too.

Mahmudullah missed the Australia Tests after being thought of as a limited-overs batsman but was then brought back for the South Africa Tests, where he was one of the few decent performers.

When he was named vice-captain alongside Shakib, it raised a lot of eyebrows. There was a feeling that the board simply wanted to punish Tamim Iqbal for his comments on the Mirpur outfield during the BPL, which made them drop him as the Test deputy.

Still, Mahmudullah seems to be a good choice given the situation the team is facing. He is no stranger to leading a side. He has been captain of 11 domestic sides, leading them in 120 matches. He was impressive in the last three BPL campaigns captaining Barisal Bulls and Khulna Titans.

Mahmudullah said that becoming a Test captain was his dream like every other cricketer but this was not the desired way of getting it. “I certainly didn’t want the captaincy in this way. Shakib is an important player. Losing him is a big blow,” he said. “But at the end of the day, we all have the opportunity to do something for the Bangladesh team. We are all very excited.

“On a personal note, every cricketer has a dream to lead their country so definitely it is great for me.”

Mahmudullah was quite confident of his team, but wouldn’t go on to call them favourites against Sri Lanka.

“I don’t think we are favourites,” he stated. “Sri Lanka have been playing good cricket off late. I personally feel that we will be on top in home soil. We are without Shakib but we have a balanced side with spinners, pace bowlers and quality batsmen.”