|| Desk Report ||

Bangladesh’s batting in Tests has been downright embarrassing in this year so far. They have failed to total 200 runs in the last eight innings and batting-order jumbles could be one of the reasons behind such disastrous performances.

Mushfiqur Rahim batted at number four in both Tests against Sri Lanka earlier this year and retained the same position in the first Test against West Indies as well. However, he saw a change in batting position in the second Test.

With Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal absent in the batting lineup, the Tigers could have promoted Mushfiqur up the order in their first Test against Zimbabwe. However, they opted to send tyro Nazmul Hossain Shanto before him as the wicketkeeper-batsman got to bat at number six in both innings.

“Mushfiq could have [batted earlier]. But I thought he was more comfortable at number six. He has big innings at number five or six. The batting order might change in the next match,” Bangladesh skipper Mahmudullah Riyad said after their 151-run defeat to Zimbabwe.

“It has to be discussed with Mushfiq about what he personally wants. It's the team management’s call regarding who will bat at which position. Mushfiq played at number six so that we could have some depth in our batting [lineup],” he added.

Mushfiqur does have a good record, batting at number six. Four of his five triple-figure scores, including his only double-century in Tests, came when he batted at this position. The 31-year-old also scored nearly half of his career-runs in Tests batting at number six in 53 of the 118 innings he has played so far.

Bangladesh saw another batting-order jumble in the second innings against Zimbabwe as Mahmudullah came out to bat at number four instead of Nazmul, who played in that position in the previous innings.