Right-left combination coupled by form prompted four openers- Mashrafee
Photo - BCB
|| CF Correspondent ||
Bangladesh skipper Mashrafee bin Murtaza said on Thursday that they opted to play four openers as they were scorning runs while they also considered right-hand left-hand combination against Windies in the ongoing three-match ODI’s series.
Bangladesh opted to play Tamim Iqbal, Liton Kumar Das, Imrul Kayes and Soumya Sarkar in the opening two games and while regular opener Imrul had to be satisfied batting at number three, Soumya was demoted down the order.
‘’If you think of the opening combination of the opening game it was a low scoring match. Liton was batting very well and he should have carried. Tamim was batting very well in the last game. What I was saying is that it is very unusual that despite our top order contributed we failed to capitalize it later,’’ Mashrafee told reporters ahead of the series deciding second match at Sylhet on Thursday.
‘’Imrul could not score in the last two matches while Soumya did not click at number six. In that sense our plan could not be executed in the middle. If Liton was not hurt at that point things would have been different. The way Mushfiq and Tamim was batting we should have scored 300 runs or at least 280,’’ he said.
‘’To be honest, we have set players till the World Cup at number five and six, if you think about Mithun. We can also play Shakib at number three; he was scoring runs at number three. But since Imrul... and we were looking for a number three – if Shakib bats at number five the depth in batting improves. So if the number three is in the form they were in – in the recent Asia Cup Liton scored, in the final especially. Then Imrul scored against Zimbabwe, and a position was created at number three from among the four of them Again, Soumya scoring a hundred in the last practice match and in the ODI has come to a position. It is a nice feeling, but at the same time we also need an adjustment – whether we can rest a player even after he has scored runs. The team’s balance is important. I don’t think we have reached the position where we can keep negative thoughts. Shakib can play at number three – he is the team’s most flexible player, mentally. Andd Mithun is there at five-six. So I won’t say that it has created restlessness yet, but it is important to settle this,’’ he added.
Mashrafee insisted that though it did is not convinced about Soumya position in the batting line-up his performance in the Asia Cup at number seven prompted them to drop him down the order.
‘’We must make a decision about Soumya. I always want Soumya should open or bat at number three if that does not hamper the right-hand-left-hand combination. This combination is the best idea for any team in the opening 10 overs. If there was no matter of combination Imrul would have been the first call in the opening position. It is a big challenge to leave someone who scored 350 runs. While Soumya is going through a good form and scored valuable runs for us at number seven in the Asia Cup though I believe his best position is at number three of at the top,’’ concluded the skipper.
