Can Mashrafe be a Test option?

During Comilla Victorians' five-wicket win against Khulna Titans, Mashrafe Mortaza took his best bowling figures in the BPL. With 12 wickets, this is his best BPL campaign, one better than his previous best in 2012.

The performance comes at a time when he has been struggling with a hamstring injury that has forced him to bowl off a shorter run-up - down to 12 metres from the usual 21. Still, watching him bowl on Friday, it didn't seem like he had lost pace - he generally stays around the mid-130s. He regularly troubled the batsmen with seam movement. His body language and the way he executed suggested he was as comfortable with the short run-up as he seems with his regular run-up.

That invited the question: would Mashrafe, with a similar approach in Tests, be an effective solution to Bangladesh's long-standing problem with their pace attack in the longest format? He hasn't played Test cricket since July 2009. In the time he has been away, Bangladesh have largely struggled to find control with the new ball, leaving their spinners to take control irrespective of conditions.

The situation became dire in the Test series against England last month, when Shafiul Islam and Kamrul Islam Rabbi were used for just 31 overs in which they picked one wicket. Yes, the Tests were played on spinner-friendly pitches, but Bangladesh's lack of pace options was still obvious.

Mashrafe will leave for Australia with a 22-member preliminary squad for a training camp next week. He is scheduled to lead the Bangladesh side for the three ODIs and three T20s in New Zealand from December 26, before the Test series begins on January 12.

Though it seems an improbable selection at this stage, Mashrafe has little over a month to prepare for the New Zealand Tests. He has spent several months bowling off a short run-up, especially when he was going through long injury lay-offs, which means his tweaked approach may not entirely be alien to him.

This is also not the first time that Mashrafe has bowled well off a short run-up in competitive cricket. He did it in last season's BPL and the Dhaka Premier League, with some success. However, to have him in the Test squad will require him to be fitter and stronger.

That Mashrafe is currently going through his longest injury-free spell since he made his international debut in 2001 is also an indication that this could be the right time to ponder over the Test idea, if he is keen. If the pitches in New Zealand continue to remain as grassy as it did against Pakistan recently, there is all the more logic to it.

However, the hierarchy of Bangladesh cricket might need a lot of convincing. The selection committee, which includes head coach Chandika Hathurusingha, would also consider factors like his lack of first-class cricket (he hasn't played four-day cricket since January 2014). That proved to be an issue when Taskin Ahmed was discussed as a potential Test candidate against New Zealand. Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan would also be a key decision-maker in this situation.

More importantly, when the idea was floated in front of Mashrafe himself, he did not seem to take it seriously. "It is possible [to bowl with a short run-up] in Test matches, but one has to pick up wickets," Mashrafe told ESPNcricinfo, before breaking into an amused smile. He did say there was not too much of a difference though. "I can bowl all day if I bowl off the short run-up. I also hear that I was bowling with the same pace, around 130kph. Swing can be controlled, but it is hard to hit the yorkers. You need the full momentum and speed for the yorker.

"Bowling the slower one is possible, but maybe not as effective as with the long run-up. What helps is that the other factors in my bowling remain the same, and these include shoulder and hand speed, and ability to seam or swing the ball. The running speed goes down but otherwise there aren't many other changes."

Rubel Hossain, who is among the standbys for Bangladesh's training camp in Australia, has been Bangladesh's best wicket-taker since Mashrafe stopped playing Tests. But his 29 wickets have come at an average of 79.58. Robiul Islam came close to being a long-term solution but it is said that the team management has long been unhappy with his fitness.

Within the group selected to travel to Australia, Mustafizur Rahman is returning from a shoulder injury while Taskin is still considered a limited-overs prospect. Shafiul was rested after the first Test against England because of tiredness, while Mohammad Shahid, who impressed in Tests in 2015, recently hurt his right knee and a decision on whether he will undergo surgery will be made at the end of December. Ebadot Hossain will require a fitness test in the next few days.

It leaves the selectors, who are scheduled to sit down to a meeting on December 4, with a few decisions to make regarding the pace attack. While the ODI attack will rely quite a bit on Mashrafe and Taskin, and Mustafizur's full recovery, the Test attack remains short of quality.

So why not Mashrafe, even if he is off a shorter run-up?