As they are unwilling to move Afif Hossain from the number four spot in the shortest format, Bangladesh is considering starting Mushfiqur in T20Is, in the forthcoming Asia Cup. In their 17-member team, Bangladesh chose Anamul Haque and Parvez Hossain to bat first, however they would be without the services of habitual opener Liton Kumar Das because he is injured.
As the other opener, the team management decided against Soumya Sarkar or Nayeem Sheikh since they are aware of their weaknesses against spinners and because they will be playing spin-heavy sides Afghanistan and Sri Lanka in the group stage.
Khaled Mahmud, the director of the Bangladesh squad, informed that they are seriously contemplating giving Mushfiqur the top spot given his extensive experience with both pace and spin. The seasoned player, who is making a comeback to the T20 format, has only opened once in his T20I career, against Afghanistan in a home tri-series game where he scored just five runs.
Mahmud said, “We are thinking of promoting Mushfiqur in T20Is at the top in the Asia Cup because he is vastly experienced in handling spin and pace and we feel he can be a very good option. We had the option of picking Nayeem and Soumya but didn’t go for them as their ability to handle spin is not that great. Parvez is there but we need to see whether he can handle spinners like Mujeeb or Rashid or not.
“If we feel that Mushfiqur looks to be the best option we might go with him and I think it can be a good move for him as well considering he will be getting 120 balls and if he gets going from the start we are likely to post a big total on the board.”
Mahmud, on Monday, stated that Afif would be given a chance to compete for the number 4 spot, which adds credence to the notion that Mushfiqur will soon take the top spot. According to Mahmud, “We will give him (Afif) a chance there ( at four in T20’s). We are thinking of Afif in a specific role and he is a dynamo. I think he is very confident and really played well in the last two series and even batted well in the ODIs. We want to give Afif his place because he is our future. The most important thing is that he is attacking and we want that in our team and he is turning out to be an important player for Bangladesh and it is our responsibility to give him that opportunity.”
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