‘Saifuddin uncertain, Mosaddek looking good’

Members of the Bangladesh T20I and ODI side are set to depart for the West Indies tomorrow but all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin was ruled out following his injury troubles, BCB sources confirmed.

The al-rounder sustained an injury 10 days ago and was given pain-relief injection which prevented him from bowling in the nets for a week. The bowler felt back pain while bowling yesterday and following asessment, it was decided that he would not be travelling with the team. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) later informed in a press release that although Saifuddin has recovered from his injury, he is yet to gain 'optimal bowling fitness.'

"Although Saifuddin is training, we feel that at the moment he has not reached the bowling fitness level required to cope with the intensity of international cricket. He will miss the West Indies series as he continues his rehab and works on his fitness," BCB chief physician Debashish Chowdhury was quoted as saying in the media release in the evening.

"There is some worry about Saifuddin's fitness. Our medical team has asked for two hours to assess his condition," selector Habibul Bashar told The Daily Star earlier in the morning.

"Someone new could be included if Saifuddin is ruled out. But at the moment, Shohidul Islam, Yasir Ali Rabbi are out through injury. So we have to see who can be included," he added.

Saifuddin had to return from the T20I World Cup in UAE last year due to a back injury. Following rehabilitation, he played the Dhaka Premier League, picking up 22 wickets in 14 games. He was picked for the West Indies tour after he went through a fitness test at Chattogram before the first Test between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

It was a one-man show from Mosaddek Hossain as the Bangladesh off-spinner restricted Zimbabwe to 135 for 8 in the second T20I in Harare yesterday.

Mosaddek, who became only the fourth Bangladeshi bowler to pick up a five-wicket haul in T20I format, helped the visitors to stage a fightback following a 17-run defeat in the first game on Saturday.

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‘Mosaddek set the tone, Liton the platform’

It was a much better bowling performance from the Tigers after the dismal show in the first game where Zimbabwe posted a record 205 for 3 on a batting-friendly Harare surface.

Mosaddek remained the chief destroyer for the Tigers after Zimbabwe elected to bat as he removed opener Regis Chakabva in the innings' first ball after the right-hander went for a fancy drive and was caught behind without troubling the score.

In the same over, a teasing delivery outside the off stump lured Wessley Madhevere (4) to hand a simple catch at cover point. One by one, Mosaddek went on to remove the next three batters in as many overs, which he bowled on the trot, leaving Zimbabwe wobbling at 31 for 5 inside seven overs.

The part time off spinner, realising the importance of pace variation, bowled a lot slower to dismiss Zimbabwean skipper Craig Ervine (1), who brought his downfall by opting for a reverse sweep and deflected the ball from his gloves to get caught at slip.

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Mosaddek, Liton help Tigers level series

Bangladesh were on a roll when Mosaddek removed the dangerous Sean Williams (8) with a sharp return catch and achieved the rare feat of a fifer by dismissing Shumba (3).

The 26-year-old ended up with impressive figures of five for 20 from his four overs, which is also the joint second-best bowling figure by a Bangladeshi in the format, equalling Shakib Al Hasan's career-best figures in T20Is.

Left-arm spinner Elias Sunny leads the chart for Bangladesh with figures of five for 13 against Ireland back in 2012, while Mustafizur Rahman's five for 22 against New Zealand in the 2016 ICC T20 World Cup puts him in the fourth spot.

Skipper Nurul Hasan Sohan's gamble to hand Mosaddek to open the innings, despite having four specialist bowlers in the line-up, paid off completely and the cricketer from Mymensingh capitalised on the opportunity.

Interestingly, Mosaddek had scalped a five-wicket haul just once in the List A competition and his maiden fifer in international cricket came when the Tigers desperately needed something special from the bowlers. Wickets aside, he enforced a tight leash on the Zimbabwean batters, bowling 15 dot deliveries in his four overs quota, causing the home side to commit unforced errors.

Mosaddek, who had picked just seven wickets in his previous 19 T20Is, became the only Bangladeshi bowler to pick all of the top five wickets of a team yesterday.

Although Zimbabwe managed to recover from the early slump by riding on Sikandar Raza's second consecutive fifty in the series, the visitors got the platform to keep the three-match series alive.

Bangladesh leg-spinner Rishad Hossain and seamer Mohammad Saifuddin along with Shakib Al Hasan and Shoriful Islam were drafted to play in the upcoming edition of the Global T20 Canada, starting on July 25.  

Rishad was drafted by Toronto Nationals while Saifuddin was signed by Montreal Tigers. It will be the first appearance in a foreign franchise league for both players. Meanwhile, Shakib and Shoriful were roped in by Bangla Tigers Mississauga. 

In the previous season, Shakib and Liton Das were the only players to feature in the tournament. The duo faced off in the final and it was Shakib's Montreal Tigers who came out victorious against Liton's Surrey Jaguars. 

Bangladesh cricket history cannot be told at all without mentioning the heroics of 1997 in Kuala Lumpur.

It was on this day, 26 years ago, that wicketkeeper-batter Khaled Masud Pilot hit the first delivery of the last over, bowled by Martin Suji, for a six as Bangladesh inched closer to the 11 needed for victory in that final over.

Then a gritty pull from tail-ender Hasibul Hossain Shanto took them to touching distance before a leg-bye in the last delivery ensured Bangladesh seal their most memorable win as they clinched the 1997 ICC Trophy by beating Kenya in the final. To this day, it remains the most iconic image of Bangladesh cricket.

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Legends detail Bangladesh dressing room atmosphere in that last over of 1997 final

Prior to that match, the semifinal clash against Scotland was a crucial encounter as well since anything less than a victory would have seen Bangladesh fail to make it to the World Cup yet again.

That victory in the second round of the ICC Trophy, skipper Akram Khan's unbeaten 68 and the consequent qualification to the semifinals are considered a seminal moment in Bangladesh's cricket history.

Only a few have been privileged to have seen that game and for those that have, it still gives them goosebumps. After the Dutch had made 171 in 49.5 overs, Bangladesh faced a revised target of 141 runs in 33 overs after they had slipped to 15 for four.

Akram then conjured up all the inspiration he could find and struck 68 off 92 balls under dull light at the Rubber Research Institute ground in Kuala Lumpur, an innings that made him an instant hero and turned that crucial game into a one for the ages.

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Greenidge recounts memories from 1997

"It feels great as we were the part of new beginning. 26 years gone but still when we look back to that day, it gives us a different feeling. Today we have got lot of world-class players like Shakib, Mashrafe, Tamim … but I am not sure whether they would have played at this level had those memorable moments didn't come to our cricket history," Akram said on the occasion of this memorable day, adding that Bangladesh stand on the cusp of clinching an ICC trophy with the crop of players at their disposal.

Akram thinks the concerned authorities does little to reminisce the times when the cricketing foundations were laid in the country.

"There was no structure for cricket back then. Bangabandhu Stadium was only allowed for cricket for six months. But everything changed after that ICC triumph. Cricket started to get exposure in the country after that success and I believe that grand reception at the Manik Mia Avenue changed the whole scenario," he said.

PHOTO: TWITTER

When he was asked to say something about his heroic knock against the Netherlands, Akram said: "No doubt it was a historic moment. If we consider our 1994 ICC trophy failure, that match had a special significant."    

The then Bangladesh coach Gordon Greenidge had recalled some memories from the ICC Trophy during a programme in 2018 and said: "We know what happened after that [following the ICC trophy in 1997]. Bangladesh cricket had taken a new flight. It's just a pity that I couldn't be with you during that period as well."

There is hardly anybody who will not agree with the former legendary West Indies opener.
 

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said it was necessary to include batter-keeper Jaker Ali Anik in place of injured off-spinner Aliss Al Islam in Bangladesh squad for their three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka at home, beginning on Monday.

The new all-format captain of the Tigers also explained why a bowling all-rounder in Mohammad Saifuddin did not make the cut despite having impressed in the recently concluded Bangladesh Premier League. 

In the BPL final, Jaker and Saifuddin featured for Comilla Victorians and eventual winners Fortune Barishal, respectively, and the duo's performance throughout the tournament had exceeded expectations; considering how they fared under pressure situations.

Shanto, however, feels that since Bangladesh possess as many as five openers in their squad, leading to an absence of middle-order batting options other than Mahmudullah Riyad and Towhid Hridoy, Jaker's inclusion is justified.

"We have enough spinners. Rishad [Hossain] is bowling well. The reason to take Jaker Ali is because, I think, the team need a middle-order batter. All selectors and coaches felt that another middle-order batter was required, and that's what led to Zaker's inclusion," Shanto told reporters on Sunday, during the pre-match presser.

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Aliss’ injury and ‘team balance’ pave Jaker’s way

While Jaker's impactful cameos were crucial behind Comilla's run to the final, Saifuddin, on the other hand -- who last played for the Tigers in 2022 before injury sidelined him -- became one of the unsung heroes for Barishal. Saifuddin's 15 scalps in nine games saw him climb into the top five of wicket-takers, and he also showed glimpses of his aggressive batting lower down the order.

Saifuddin's bowling prowess at the death had placed him in the limelight, especially after how he refused to let Comilla batter Andre Russel unleash by peppering the hard-hitting West Indies batter with one yorker after another in the innings' last over, eventually becoming a turning point in the title-decider.

While Saifuddin death-over bowling could have been an asset to the team, roping him in would have been "risky", as far as the physios are concerned, informed Shanto.  

"What I feel about Saifuddin is that he performed very well after returning from injury. But him playing such a series after coming back from injury, all of our physios felt it would be risky. Hopefully he will continue like this, and there is a DPL [Dhaka Premier League] ahead, then there will be opportunities," said Shanto.