Mushfiq will keep wickets: Rhodes
© Cricfrenzy
||CF Correspondent||
Bangladesh head coach Steve Rhodes confirmed on Thursday that Mushfiqur Rahim will be keeping the wickets against Zimbabwe in the upcoming two-match Test series.
The decision was approved by the team management though it was not the case earlier when there was a widespread debate over Mushfiqur’s abilities behind the wicket.
During the tenure of Hathurusingha, it was widely speculated that keeping wickets had left a huge impact on Mushfiqur’s batting. On top of it, there were several instances when Mushfiqur’s lacking as a keeper was exposed and forced him to give away the keeping gloves after the tour of Sri Lanka last year.
Hathurusinghe was clearly unhappy with his wicketkeeping in Tests three years ago when he took over the charge of the team and had stripped him of the duty at least for three Tests in 2015.
Liton Das had replaced Mushfiq behind the stumps against India at Fatullah in that year and did a fair job to retain his place in two Tests against South Africa, though rain had cost him the opportunity.
Liton then lost his form in and was dropped from the team in two series against England and New Zealand, which allowed Mushfiq to regain the confidence of the coach and return as wicketkeeper.
It did not help the team much, especially during the first Test in New Zealand when Mushfiq injured his finger and had struggled to bat before he was eventually ruled out of the second Test.
One of the reasons for the team to strip Mushfiq of his wicketkeeping duty was to help his batting, something that the coach and selectors thought was vital for the team more than anything else.
“Mushy [Mushfiqur] will keep wickets. That’s the plan at the moment unless there’s a problem. We are lucky to have Liton and Mithun in the squad. We have got options,” said Rhodes.
“In my eyes at the moment, I have been very pleased with what Mushy has done behind the stumps. Some of the ODI stuff has made me very happy. Mushy is a wonderfully gifted cricketer, very experienced and a real battler. You need someone with a bit of niggle behind the stumps. You are right in the thick of the action. I think Mushy is the ideal bloke for it,” he added.
