Backing Shamim’s ‘rare’ flair begins to pay off

Not many lower-middle-order batters in Bangladesh have a penchant for playing the more forbidden strokes quite like Shamim Hossain Patwary, the batter who was the catalyst for Bangladesh's acceleration in the middle overs on Sunday in the second T20I against Sri Lanka in Dambulla, paving the way for an 83-run victory -- a national record in the format.

For all the flair on offer, consistency has remained not only an issue for Shamim but for most Bangladesh batters over the years. However, rather than clip his wings, coaches have instead tried to harness his natural instincts.

Shamim appears to be a one-off in Bangladesh's T20I circuit: a batter who keeps playing those shots as long as he stays in the crease.

Yet, when it comes to consistency, despite an impactful series in the West Indies last year, he also had a run of six games where he only managed single-digit scores.
Coaches -- Mizanur Rahman Babul and Sohel Islam, for instance, who work with him in the Bangladesh Tigers programme -- understood the challenge was not to limit his game but to shape it.

"He usually bats for five-six overs, so actually his playing style is to bat at a high strike-rate, which also is demanded in those situations where he bats," Mizanur told The Daily Star.

"We need to give him more assurances, since these kinds of batters are rare here. If we restrict him or try to tell him to stop playing shots, his skill will be ruined. Then he would be playing selfish cricket and fall into a block. We must equip him so he can be more comfortable," he added.

"Equipping" Shamim was about more than just working on his mentality.

"He is very good at playing those scoops or those shots over fine leg, but he wasn't playing through mid-off, for instance," coach Babul observed.

"If he always plays those scoops, fielders are in place for that. If he plays straight at times, it would see the field change, and you can see now that he uses those unconventional shots much less.

"The Tigers programme works on honing players' shots they already know and also works on adding some shots. If he starts using an array of shots, the opposition keep guessing, and it allows him to find more gaps."

The array of shots was seen on Sunday. Shamim exhibited a six over mid-off with a straight face that emphasises Babul's words. Shamim averaged over 56 in the last Dhaka Premier League. Talha Jubair, his coach at Prime Bank last year, feels the batter now understands the value of his wicket better.

"You see that in international cricket, he is playing in the same pattern that he wants to, focusing on his strengths. There is a maturity that was previously not seen," Talha opined.

"The game is still 20 percent skill and 80 percent mentality. I only talked about the value of his wicket. T20 is about risks, but while taking that risk, if you throw away your wicket, then it's not useful. His ball selection is what I saw improve."

What Shamim is trying to master -- calculated aggression -- can only come with discipline. And if Bangladesh can continue to nurture that balance in him, they may yet unlock a timely talent for their T20 ambitions.