There is little doubt that the effort of the spinners was the key behind the Tigers success in the last two series against New Zealand and Zimbabwe. The slow bowlers took 56 wickets amongst them in the last eight matches; a statistic, which clearly shows how heavily the Bangladesh team are dependant on them. Nobody will hesitate to spot this as the strongest area of the Bangladesh team especially in limited-overs cricket.
One can easily say that it’s a comfort zone for Jamie Siddons’ charges and that is the reason there are five spinners in the team in Shakib Al Hasan, Abdur Razzak, Sohrawardi Shuvo, Mahmudullah Riyad and Naeem Islam. Add to that mix Mohammad Ashraful, who can also turn his arm around for the occasional spell of leg-spin bowling.
Of course the batsmen will have to play their part but Bangladesh’s success in the coming World Cup will depend on the slow bowlers because it’s expected that they will get the most help from the conditions that prevail in pitches here. In particular, all eyes will be on Shakib Al Hasan and veteran Abdur Razzak, who had a tremendous contribution during the 2007 World Cup in West Indies along with ace left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique. But Shakib is still the most fancy weapon in Bangladesh’s arsenal and his form is critical in a tournament expected to be dominated by batsmen.
Without leading paceman Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, the inexperienced pace attack will definitely face a tough task against teams like India, South Africa and England and so the onus will be on the spin bowlers. Especially everybody would be looking forward to see how they handle the formidable Indian batting line-up.
Shakib and Razzak are the proven fighters but it would be the biggest test for Riyad and Naeem and even Shuvo, if he does get the chance to play in any match. Shakib’s main strength is his deathly accuracy no matter what the conditions and the left-armer can read any batsman very quickly while Razzak has become a much better bowler after changing his action.
“It’s better not to say anything about Shakib because he already proved his ability in any condition. But it is amazing the way Razzak has improved his bowling. Razzak is now a much better bowler after changing his action because he can control the ball much better,” said coach Mohammad Salahuddin, who has been working hard with Razzak ever since the bowler was suspended for an illegal action.
He also said that Razzak developed more options in his bowling and he can now dip the ball perfectly. With his changed action, Razzak claimed 18 scalps in eight games in the later part of last year whereas initially he had only 11 wickets in 14 matches.
“And just mind it, Razzak bowled most of the occasions in the Powerplay in his career which has given a great relief to Shakib. And his effectiveness with the new ball is also amazing. He is mentally very tough and he has proved time and again not only in the field but also off the field whenever he was suspended,” added Salahuddin.
And his observation is also that Riyad and Naeem, the two off-spin all-rounder, have also improved a lot and brought different variation to their bowling.
“Both the bowlers can now spin the ball and have good control of flighted deliveries. And in one-day cricket the most important thing is how accurate you are in your bowling,” observed Salahuddin adding that Shuvo has to improve his bowling.
In the consideration of current form of the spinners there is a bright picture for the Bangladesh team and it’s time to deliver at the big occasion now.
VIa: The Daily Star
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