The Hagley Oval painted a grim picture when the Bangladesh cricket team turned up to train in the morning session yesterday. The sky was cloudy and intermittent drizzle did not allow the Tigers to have an outdoor training session. The good area of the pitch was covered and out in the middle was Bangladesh's coach Chandika Hathurusinga and captain Mushfiqur Rahim. They were having a discussion, presumably about the second Test against New Zealand that starts here from Friday.
But before the game starts in two days' time the discussion of the team management was dominated by talk surrounding the injuries to three key players including the captain himself. The coach spoke about that and said opener Imrul Kayes has a 50-50 chance, Mushfiqur is still under observation and Mominul Haque is feeling good.
“We have a few injuries to key players. We are waiting for another kind of protocol examination with the doctors today for the captain. Imrul is still 50-50, he has a tear in his thigh. Mini [Mominul] I think will be pretty good and hoping that he will be okay,” was the injury update the coach provided at around 12:00pm yesterday.
They will get another day to make a final decision regarding the playing eleven for the second Test after that stunning seven-wicket defeat in the opening Test at Wellington.
The most important call is supposed to come from the captain himself. Considering that there are two __more pressing series ahead, it would have been wise for Mushfiqur to rest his fractured thumb instead of risking it further in conditions where there is every possibility for him to get a few __more painful blows. But it is also true that his absence for most part of the tour cost the Tigers dearly. He is not only the crucial middle-order batsman of the team, his presence provided a sense of assurance in the first Test where he scored a magnificent 159. He was also taking the Tigers close to safety on the fifth morning despite batting with an injured thumb, but was undone by a bouncer. He was stretchered off to the hospital with a mild concussion after scoring 13.
However as it stands at the moment, both Mushfiqur and Imrul will not be in any position to don the wicket-keeping gloves, in which case the team's reserve wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan will make his Test debut at the Hagley Oval on Friday.
And if Mushfiqur makes a decision to play the Test risking a fractured thumb and Imrul recovers in time, Bangladesh might have to sacrifice a bowler and in that case off-spinner Mehedi Hasan Miraz may be dropped considering the condition of the wicket. Mehedi may still be dropped even if Imrul fails to recover and in that event Soumya Sarker, who had a long net session yesterday, could come in as a batsman who can also bowl a bit of medium pace.
The team management is happy with the performance of the three pace bowlers in the first Test. And according to the coach the wickets here will suit the bowling most.
“When you look deep into their history they haven't bowled like this. They are not used to bowling 18 overs and then come on to bowl another 15 over the next day. So the physical challenge is there and there is also the mental challenge as well. The good thing is this is the best condition to bowl for fast bowlers,” quipped the coach.
Among the three pace bowlers Kamrul Islam Rabbi impressed most. Taskin Ahmed was expensive on his debut but Subhashis Roy, the other debutant, also bowled well. The Bangladesh pace attack might not have quite matched their opposition but they gave a very good first impression at the Basin Reserve.
The wicket at Hagley Oval will not only offer bounce, it is likely to provide seam movement. And if that happens the wicket will be more challenging for the batsman. Bangladesh played extremely well in Wellington and if the batting can display the same resolve it showed in the first innings of the opening Test, Bangladesh can still return home with a bit of a smile on their face after an otherwise disappointing tour.