Bangladesh: No longer minnows of the cricket world

Bangladesh beat Pakistan by 79 runs in the first One-Day International (ODI) at Dhaka, thereby breaking a 16-year winless streak. That this performance has come on the back of a convincing performance in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 means that Bangladesh cricket is on its way forward. Shiamak Unwalla feels that this is perhaps the strongest Bangladesh side of all time.

Bangladesh are a side that have traditionally relied on individuals rather than on the team. They have always possessed one or two extremely talented players, supported by bits-and-pieces cricketers who merely make up the numbers.

Bangladesh are a side that have traditionally relied on individuals rather than on the team. They have always possessed one or two extremely talented players, supported by bits-and-pieces cricketers who merely make up the numbers.

They have had brilliant individuals such as Habibul Bashar, Alok Kapali, Mohammad Rafique, Mohammad Ashraful, Abdur Razzak, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mashrafe Mortaza, and Shakib Al Hasan, who have had to carry the team on the their shoulders at various points in their careers.
That is not the case with the side Bangladesh have had over the last few months. They had a terrible year in 2014, failing to win anything other than the Test and ODI series against Zimbabwe. Since then though, they have put in some encouraging performances.

In Tamim Iqbal, Bangladesh have a batsman of undeniable quality right at the top. He became Bangladesh’s leading run-scorer in ODIs with his century against Pakistan, but there is no doubting the fact that he must work on his consistency. He is by no means someone who just makes up the numbers.

Soumya Sarkar is only eight ODIs old, but despite the fact that he is yet to cross 51, the talent he possesses has been on display for a while. A left-handed batsman who has drawn comparisons with Sourav Ganguly from the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Sarkar is certainly one for the future.

Mahmudullah was, till very recently, not much more than a useful all-rounder who can contribute a bit with both bat and ball. He has now gone down in the history books as the first Bangladesh batsman to score a World Cup hundred; in fact he scored two of them, in a row.

Mushfiqur has been one of Bangladesh’s best batsmen for some time now. Though his record doesn’t quite show his capabilities, when on song Mushfiqur can massacre even the best bowling attacks. He has played more than one game-changing innings, and is a vital cog in Bangladesh’s middle order.

Not much needs to be said Shakib, who is perhaps the best all-rounder in world cricket at present. Till Tamim went past him, Shakib was the leading run-scorer for Bangladesh in ODIs, and also one of their top wicket-takers.

Then there are the likes of Anamul Haque, Sabbir Rahman, and Nasir Hossain, each of whom can hold their own. On the bowling front, Mortaza remains a wily customer, Rubel Hossain and Al-Amin Hossain are threats, and Taskin Ahmed has the potential to be one of the best pace bowlers in the world with time. They have a spinner like Taijul Islam, who shattered records galore in his first year of international cricket.

Bangladesh are no longer pushovers; they finally have a team full of talent and class that can compete and hold their own against the best in the world. They might not be world-beaters yet, but with time and patience, they could finally graduate from being minnows to becoming a side worthy of respect.

(Shiamak Unwalla is a proud Whovian and all-round geek who also dabbles in cricket writing as a reporter with CricketCountry. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)