Bangladesh Tour of India 2019 Discussion

[NILAYSHAH60]

The more confidence he derives from his good show and cements himself, the sooner India can get to a point where a captaincy challenger arrives.

I think I missed out on this point of yours. I absolutely agree with you. I think he has the best qualities that a Captain can have. And it is actually good to have a player who can actually challenge Kohli's Captaincy and that could actually bring the best out of Kohli-The Captain and if not then even we can shift the Captaincy on Iyer as I felt he is quite comfortable to handle it. At the end of the day it is very good for Indian Cricket to have someone like Iyer involved in and around it.

 

[Elite101]

Virat Kohli also got oppurtunity due to Dhoni.It was times Kohli was very bad Tendulkar and Dhoni still kept him in team because they knew he had talent and now you can see the numbers

Also can I know the good reason why our thread was pinned?I liked it but I wanted to know reason.Very few threads are pinned like this

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Also can I know the good reason why our thread was pinned?I liked it but I wanted to know reason.Very few threads are pinned like this

Only recent series threads are pinned so that people don't have to take effort to find them and make it available on the go.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Since we are moving forward to the Test series I would like to discuss few points here.

First I would like to discuss about the home side

So coming on to the playing XI

Mayank Agarwal
Rohit Sharma
Cheteshwar Pujara
Virat Kohli
Ajinkya Rahane
Ravindra Jadeja
Wriddhiman Saha
Ravichandran Ashwin
Kuldeep Yadav
Mohammed Shami
Umesh Yadav

So here I am going with 5 batsman, 4 bowlers, 1 keeper and 1 all-rounder

Since the Indian selectors wants to give chances to Rohit Sharma as an opener I think he becomes an automatic choice. I don't need to say anything about Agarwal as well all are aware about him. And then our 3 of the most dependable batsmen to follow in Kohli, Pujara and Rahane. Since we are playing in Asia an additional spinner becomes an asset especially since post lunch session on Day 3. I have gone with Umesh Yadav ahead of Ishant Sharma since Umesh is a better pacer in Asian conditions and we must play him. I remember @Aalay discussed about it during the South Africa series in the India tour of South Africa thread. I think Saha is our first choice keeper so keeping out our first choice keeper would send out a wrong message and also it would affect Saha's confidence. I am sure that he would do well considering he is the best wicket-keeper in the country right now in this format. Also since this is a home match we don't need an additional batsman to act as a cushion hence Vihari shouldn't play.

Now the positives

As mentioned in the past, somehow I feel like our Test team looks a lot settled and doesn't necessarily require much of changes every now and then. Infact we can play the same XI for the entire series and still perform well but the selectors and the management need to show some brains and not believe on the horses for courses hoax.

I think Rohit has performed well above expectations in our last series and hence this gives us an advantage of having an additional opener in the side and if he can play a long innings it would be always beneficial for the team.

Rahane looks a lot more positive in his approach since the Test series in the West Indies which further adds to the confidence of our batting line-up. I saw him play his signature cover drive through extra-cover with a lot more confidence and with better transfer of balance in his stroke rather than poking at a wide-ish delivery without much of foot-work which he did during the England tour last year.

On Jadeja, I feel like he has wonderfully established himself as a Test batsman low down the order capable of playing some cameos and also being able to grind it out at times. He looks a lot more comfortable batting with the tail now than in the past. And his all-round display is something that is worth to watch these days.

Negatives

It is good that we are giving chances to Rohit Sharma but does that guarantee his performance Overseas ? And also he is consistently going for those big shots in between his innings so is that something ideal when it's seaming or turning or there is a collapse for some reason ? Will that be effective ? I know he has done well in Ranchi to be able to wear that new ball down but it is crucial about how he does in future matches.

I felt these days Kohli on lot of occasions have got out at wrong intervals or when he is well set he throws away his wicket out of no where. Which is again something that can be a issue going forward because it does affect your confidence when your runs dry down a little bit. But I am sure he would get on with it somehow and be back at his own very best. So this isn't a point to worry about.

In this series we need to choose between Ashwin or Jadeja or both as our spinner who we would play for us in New Zealand. If we go for Ashwin over Jadeja then it looks as if we are short by one batsman at times and that is where Jadeja is crucial. But if we go with Jadeja we have to compromise to some extent with our bowling. But I feel Ashwin is our best spinner in all conditions so he has to play. I would like to make a bold move an play both of them even in Overseas conditions. What I believe is that you need to have your best bowlers when playing Overseas rather than being condition specific which we were able to realise to some extent seeing South Africa's bowling performance in our previous series.

If Saha continues to get chances and he starts scoring some important runs then Pant would be out from the Test side for a good 2 years of his career and if that happens will the team go back to Pant or a new-comer. And if that happens then how much would it affect his confidence ? I am sure he would start worrying about his place in the team and would continue to make some few silly mistakes because of the pressure he would have in his mind regarding his place in the side. This is where the man-management becomes important.

Players to look out for:
Pujara
Kohli
Rahane
Agarwal
Ashwin
Jadeja
Kuldeep
Saha (his keeping)

Bangladesh

The playing XI

Shadman Islam
Imrul Kayes
Mohammad Mithun
Liton Das
Mominul Haque
Mushfiqur Rahim
Mahmudullah
Mehedi Hasan
Taijul Islam
Al-Amin Hossain
Mustafizur Rahman

I am quite impressed with the young left-hander Shadman Islam as he seems to have the temperament to succeed at the Test level and has been a decent run-scorer in the first-class too. Imrul Kayes has to be in the side as he has a lot of experience with him. Mithun and Das seem to be lot more reliable batsman these days for Bangladesh. I feel like Mominul Haque himself can also bowl few overs if required. Taijul Islam and Mehedi Hasan will be my lead spinners. And Mahmudullah will be the third spinner. And the 2 pacers continue to be in the side.

Positives

As Bangladesh are touring India for the 2nd time they would be a lot more confident then their previous outing here. And also since they are used to the surfaces their bowling line-up will be comfortable bowling for them and getting them their much needed wickets. What pleases me is their confidence with which the play. Their bowlers seems to have a lot of belief while bowling and their batsman are confident as ever. They have a batting line-up that could go on to get even 350-400 if they try to hang in there. And even the bowling is capable of dismissing the opposition under 250-300.

Negatives

Missing Tamim Iqbal for this series is a huge loss for them as he is the most experienced batsman for Bangladesh and is equally reliable for them.

Shakib's loss is even bigger as he is ideally the best all-rounder in the world by a fair margin across formats and to lose a player of his calibre is obviously a big loss. It also puts pressure on Mehedi Hasan to also perform Shakib's job of getting some crucial wickets and score some handy runs as well.

Bangladesh have got just 2 experienced pacers in their entire squad and God forbid is one of them gets injured they would be under more pressure. I don't know much about Abu Jayed.

Conclusion:

What I feel like is Bangladesh spinners are used to bowling on Asian pitches and their batsman have been well-adapted with it since they get similar surfaces at home, their bowling would do better than the Proteas in my view.

I feel this is going to be another 2-0 win for India with Bangladesh making us fight for our wins. If India makes mistakes it can be 1-0. I think a 1-1 would be an interesting scenario but seeing the form and recent performance of India at home, I don't expect Bangladesh to win as of yet. But I would still be excited for this series to unfold.

 

[Bevab]

@NilayShah60 good write-up mate. That Bangladeshi section does need a few corrections though...

• Rahim has already announced that he is giving up the gloves. He does average slightly more with the gloves than without it but in the absence of Shakib, he is the main man and will most likely bat at four or five. Das is a solid keeper and would probably bat at seven or six.
• Mominul is a very solid batsman in Asia and will most likely be the number three like he has in most games. Five is too low a position for him.
  
• Would be surprised and disappointed if Mithun gets to play ahead of Mosaddek. He has flattered to deceive until now, but has a monstrous first-class record. It is time that they tried him out as a serious option as a batsman.
• Al-Amin is most likely not to play. The last test he played was in 2014 and he has only two first-class matches in the past year. I would be surprised if the Fizz played too, given his fitness record. Even if he is their best pacer, the management hasn't played him a lot in tests, even dropping him for the first game in New Zealand and altogether from the squad to face Afghanistan. Jayed on the other hand is a decent swing bowler who looked good versus New Zealand. Then again, managing the pacers has been one of Bangladesh's biggest weakness in tests.
  
• Nayeem Hasan has been very impressive whenever he has played and given his age and Bangladesh's love for playing young, inexperienced players, I would be surprised if he wasn't playing in the first test.

I wouldn't be surprised if this was the lineup we see from Bangladesh.

1. Shadman Islam
2. Imrul Kayes
3. Mominul Haque
4. Mushfiqur Rahim/Mahmudullah (second option occurs if they decide that Mahmudullah has batted the most at four)
   
5. Mahmudullah/Rahim (second option occurs if they decide that Rahim's highest score at five)
6. Mosaddek Hossain(personal preference)/Mithun(most likely)
7. Liton Das
8. Mehidy Hasan Miraz
9. Taijul Islam
10. Nayeem Hasan/Mustafizur Rahman/Ebadot Hossain
    
11. Abu Jayed

Then again, it's Bangladesh. Wouldn't be surprised if they throw up a really strange lineup with four spinners and Das opening despite being the keeper.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

I followed Mominul Haque in the early stages of his career where he used to bat low down the order and bowl part-time spin so I didn't have much idea about him batting at a higher position in matches played recently but yes I do agree that potentially Mominul Haque is a great batsman and would continue to be for Bangladesh Cricket in the years to come.

Mosaddek does seem to be a very good batsman as well. I really liked the way he took on Mohammed Shami in the World Cup when his team had an outside chance of winning the match and that is what really brought me at the edge of my seat. I think Mithun is just being highly valued by Bangladesh Cricket right since the time he has made it to the International level but I still can't understand why is it like that maybe because of experience he has in the domestic arena ?

I really can't understand why has Bangladesh gone for only 3 fast bowlers in their squad.

 

[SaiSrini]

India should play always 3 seamers + 2 spinners unless the pitch is a massive turner. A normal pitch aiding spin does not warrant a third spinner.

M Agarwal
R Sharma
C Pujara
V Kohli
A Rahane
W Saha
R Jadeja
R Ashwin
I Sharma
M Shami
U Yadav

And if in case India has to play a third spinner, I'll play Ishant ahead of Umesh everyday until Ishant is injured. Ishant to me, is the 2nd leader of the test pace attack after Bumrah and dropping him for Umesh is absurd to me. Ishant can bowl in any condition and I consider him to be superior in terms of control than Umesh. And Ishant's handy batting (its more reliable than Umesh's batting) gives him all the edge.

It now seems clear that the likes of Vihari and Pandya have almost no chance to sneak into the test XI barring injuries.

 

[Master Bates]

India should play always 3 seamers + 2 spinners unless the pitch is a massive turner. A normal pitch aiding spin does not warrant a third spinner.

M Agarwal
R Sharma
C Pujara
V Kohli
A Rahane
W Saha
R Jadeja
R Ashwin
I Sharma
M Shami
U Yadav

And if in case India has to play a third spinner, I'll play Ishant ahead of Umesh everyday until Ishant is injured. Ishant to me, is the 2nd leader of the test pace attack after Bumrah and dropping him for Umesh is absurd to me. Ishant can bowl in any condition and I consider him to be superior in terms of control than Umesh. And Ishant's handy batting (its more reliable than Umesh's batting) gives him all the edge.

It now seems clear that the likes of Vihari and Pandya have almost no chance to sneak into the test XI barring injuries.

I think Umesh's extra pace and ability to reverse the ball work well in Indian conditions. We saw Ishant underperforming in SA series. He is not good enough for playing in India unless it is pacer friendly track.

 

[asprin]

I'll play Ishant ahead of Umesh everyday until Ishant is injured

It may come across as harsh considering how well Ishant has improved himself, but I would still back Umesh ahead of Ishant in home conditions. There's something about him that makes him tick on Indian pitches and he bowls his heart out.Granted that he has been a disappointment overseas, but unless he has 3-4 bad games on the trot, I wouldn't mind having him instead of Ishant if it comes down to it.

Coming to the Test match, the first hour has been India's no doubt given that Bangladesh had won the toss. I'm really looking forward to 2nd and 3rd day as I feel Bangladesh might spring us a surprise when bowling.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

You know what I feel like, I think if Bangladesh can bat till lunch tomorrow they are well in the game and certainly could put pressure on us provided they get some early wickets which includes 3 of our most dependable batsman in Kohli, Pujara and Rahane.

I absolutely like the way that Shami always have bowled his heart out whenever he has played for India. I think he is probably the most under-rated bowler in our line-up.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

There's the inswinger right in plumb. Shami bowled that ball with so much of accuracy. I always see him extract some movement off the pitch and keeping it in on the channel on off-stump.

 

[asprin]

Not sure if that was a difficult chance, but I strongly feel that Kohli shouldn't be in the slips. He has missed too many to count.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Just an interesting fact regarding the D/N Test. Pakistan is the only side that has played full 5 days on 3 occasions. Australia has a 100% win record in D/N Tests followed by Pakistan 60%.

 

[Bevab]

Rahim is starting to show his class. Has been playing Ashwin quite well now.

 

[Bevab]

That was very terrible from Haque. Why would you not defend a ball that is highly likely to hit the stumps?