Bangladesh missed Rubel Hossain

It is not understandable why someone like Rubel Hossain was not included in first two ODIs….

 There was nothing new and exciting in Christchurch, but it was the repeat of Napier. Martin Guptill smashed a ton, Bangladesh batting struggled and that man Mohammad Mithun stepped up to give the visitors some sort of respectability,  who were reeling at 93 for 5 and this time around, Mithun had Sabbir Rahman by his side to do the repair work. At least Sabbir’s 43 would shut the mouth of his critics for a while. And, as usual, Bangladesh bowling remained below-par.

The difference has been, New Zealand chased the target quicker than Napier without breaking enough sweat.

Bangladesh bowlers were so easy to play.

Still, they seemed to be hungover by the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

How could such a substandard Twenty20 League be the ideal platform for the preparation of New Zealand tour I fail to understand! Even the head coach and captain endorsed the same thought, but still, why was it necessary to arrange such a pathetic tournament each and every year, which gives Bangladesh cricket nothing, but a flurry of substandard cricket, flawed television coverage, comical local hosts and commentators.     

Bangladesh batting and bowling have been badly affected by BPL, but the trend of modern day expert is, they don’t wish to speak about the bad-effects of Twenty20 Leagues despite realizing its adverse effects.  Cash is so powerful; it can shut anyone’s mouth, except few. And those who speak don’t receive importance from others and their words fell in deaf ears. But one should not stop, but continue speaking about hard-hitting facts.

The Bangladesh skipper, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza yet again emphasized on improving the batting of Tigers, but I always failed to understand, why he skips the bowling sector, which has failed to back the fighting efforts of batters. Again, it was not understandable why such a slowish bowler like Mohammad Saifuddin share the new ball with Mashrafe! Is Saifuddin part of any so-called quota system in Bangladesh cricket? His lollypop-bowling can be suitable in BPL, but surely not in Napier and Christchurch.

Going by the logic of Mashrafe, if Bangladesh batsmen posted something around 270-300-plus runs, they might have given Kiwis a run for their money, but Mashrafe forgot, with such a toothless bowling attack, even a total of 400 runs is not secured enough.

Where is Rubel Hossain?

Why Rubel Hossain is not given the preference ahead of Saifuddin?

It is not known whether Rubel is unfit or not, but if he is picked in the squad then surely he is there because of being fit and ready to bowl.

At Napier and Christchurch, Bangladesh missed the pace and agility of Rubel. Rubel is a skiddy customer and on any tracks, he can prove handy. He pitches the ball on an attacking length and with the old ball he has the ability to dish out the contrast swing and bang on the Yorkers straight into the blockhole. In the 50-over format, Rubel has delivered Bangladesh the goods whenever it was needed.

Meanwhile, against New Zealand, Rubel’s record is very impressive. In the 50-over formats, Rubel has bagged 21 wickets at an average and strike rate of 26.14 and 30.24 respectively. His best bowling figures of 6 for 26 and his only hat-trick in ODIs are also against the same opponent.

How could ignore such a bowler who not only has the experience, but possesses a very good record against New Zealand?

In New Zealand, any visiting teams from subcontinent would require pace and skill to strike gold in Test and ODIs. If anyone wishes to fetch wickets by relying on spinners then he must be as high-class Shane Warne and the masters of modern day cricket: Yuzuvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.  Bangladesh do have a class act like Shakib Al Hasan, but unfortunately, he is absent due to injuries and for which, Rubel factor was much needed to give decisive breakthroughs and pile up the pressure.

Sadly, Bangladesh think tank thought otherwise. They decided to stick to Saifuddin.

Obviously, everyone deserves another chance to prove his worth, but one has to be stupid of high pedigree to ignore someone like Rubel.  

Note: This article has been published at Cricketsoccer on 16/02/2018 Bangladesh missed Rubel Hossain

Thank You

Faisal Caesar