Will Tigers pay for carrying a struggling Hridoy?

The ball isn't finding the middle of the bat; the timing is all wrong. This has been the story of Bangladesh's Towhid Hridoy for a while now.

On the eve of the Tigers' Asia Cup opener in Abu Dhabi against Hong Kong, Hridoy left the nets discussing the issue with Parvez Hossain Emon -- perhaps seeking a solution to his struggles.

Even Hridoy admitted that he failed to find a solution. "I tried to hit, but the ball just wasn't connecting with the bat," he said after a sluggish knock in the chase against Hong Kong.

Against Sri Lanka, fortune briefly smiled on him when a catch was dropped at 4. But the very next ball, he was run out by a direct throw.

Hridoy's vulnerability outside off stump has been ruthlessly exposed, and Bangladesh are paying the price for persisting with their out-of-form right-hander.

The signs were there in the pre-Asia Cup series against the Netherlands in Sylhet. Dutch spinners Aryan Dutt and Tim Pringle quickly targeted his off-side weakness. Hridoy repeatedly tried to drag deliveries to the leg side, falling into their trap. In modern cricket, such flaws rarely go unnoticed on opposition analysts' laptops.

The numbers underline his slump: across his last 20 innings, Hridoy has managed 403 runs at a strike rate of 112.88. In the last 10 innings, it gets worse -- 186 runs at 100.54. By comparison, Jakir Ali struck at a strike rate of 131 across 19 innings in the same span.

In his first 20 T20I innings, Hridoy averaged 30.87 with a strike rate of 135.34, garnering a reputation for clean hitting. But now, his T20 graph only seems to be going downward.

Bangladesh's defeat to Sri Lanka has left them vulnerable in the group stage, with a strong Afghanistan next up. Giving Hridoy another chance now means thrusting him under even greater pressure.

Yet chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu remains reluctant to abandon him. "Maybe Hridoy isn't in his best rhythm. He has more impact on wickets where the ball comes nicely onto the bat. After investing in him for so long, now is the time to get returns -- otherwise, the investment itself looks questionable. Hopefully, he'll come back," Lipu told The Daily Star.

Still, concern was evident. Lipu also stressed that responsibility lay beyond Hridoy: "You can't blame only Hridoy. The entire top order failed (against Sri Lanka)."

But in reality, the middle order is expected to rescue the team when the top falters. In recent games, Bangladesh's top order had generally provided a platform, with at least one of the openers between Tanzid Hasan Tamim and Emon able to provide a good start and skipper Litton Das being a consistent scorer at No. 3.

With the Tigers losing early wickets against Sri Lanka, it was the first time in a while that the middle order was tested. That's where Hridoy was expected to play a crucial role, but he failed at the most important stage.

Options do exist. Saif Hassan, recalled after two years, impressed with a stormy knock against the Netherlands. His part-time off-spin and sharp fielding also add value. Nurul Hasan Sohan, too, is a possible alternative.

Bangladesh now face Afghanistan tomorrow, where a defeat would mean elimination. Even with victory, their fate depends on the Sri Lanka-Afghanistan result. In a high-stakes scenario, the question remains: should the Tigers persist with a struggling Hridoy when other choices are waiting?