Mushfiqur gears up

A year since the ICC position paper was leaked and the tumult that followed, Mushfiqur Rahim remains the only reasonably high-profile current cricketer to openly question the proposal for the two-tier Test system. He knew very well what he was talking about and who he was taking on. A look at the man's career path will tell you that he is no stranger to swimming against the tide and coming out on top.

He made his Test debut at Lord's in 2005 as a schoolboy. Two years later he was the chief selector's successful punt to replace Khaled Mashud, Bangladesh's trusted wicketkeeper of 12 years, in a World Cup. After the next World Cup, Mushfiqur ran into poor form and was going to be dropped when an unbeaten 81 against Australia bought him some time.

He was made captain a few months later and became the team's batting leader within a year. He led the team to an Asia Cup final, ODI series wins over West Indies and New Zealand, a commendable draw in Galle against Sri Lanka, and a drawn ODI series there as well. Amid all this, he found time to earn a Masters in history.

At the start of last year, Mushfiqur was preparing for the Test series at home against Sri Lanka, amid concern over the country's security situation, but with the faith that his and his team's confidence was at an all-time high after crushing New Zealand yet again, just a few months prior. On January 17, news broke that the BCCI, ECB and CA had put together a draft proposal to refurbish world cricket like never before.

In the following days it was revealed that, among the other major proposals, it was being recommended that the teams ranked Nos. 9 and 10 play in the Intercontinental Cup from 2015. Bangladesh were ranked No. 10 at the time, and suddenly a future without Test cricket stared Mushfiqur in the eye.

A week or so later, he was walking out of a Bangladesh training session when he was asked by a group of journalists whether he felt uncertain about his future. "If the two-tier system does happen, then what is the use of all this?" he said. "We work very hard to play cricket, so it will be very disappointing if it does indeed happen.

"I don't think it is working as a motivation. We have played some consistent cricket in the last two years. We just have to continue. We have nothing to show to anyone. I think we can fight them with the team we have and the consistency we have shown. I hope everything gets better, and I hope such a thing doesn't happen and we get to play."

When Bangladesh lost the ensuing Test series, some questioned whether the players and their captain were thinking too much about the draft proposal. The matter died down when the proposal was changed to the Intercontinental Cup champion being asked to take part in a playoff with the No. 10 Test team in a few years' time.

Around the same time, Bangladesh started to lose close games, Shakib Al Hasan was banned for making an obscene gesture during a game, Mushfiqur slammed the selectors, and Afghanistan surprised them in the Asia Cup. The focus shifted to Bangladesh under Mushfiqur, and his often one-dimensional captaincy. A defeat by Hong Kong, Shane Jurgensen's resignation, the Stuart Binny match and another ban for Shakib followed.

Mushfiqur's captaincy looked weary, defensive and lacking ideas. For instance, he would only employ left-arm spinners against right-hand batsmen and offspin against left-handers, regardless of the confidence and form of the bowler and the batsman's strengths. Thisara Perera's late-order mayhem in the first ODI, in February, was an innings that capitalised on Mushfiqur's rigidity in his use of his bowlers. He also went on to bowl Al-Amin Hossain against Shahid Afridi, and Farhad Reza at the death against Hong Kong. He picked the wrong combination in the Tests against West Indies, perhaps reading the pitch and conditions wrong. It was only a matter of time before the BCB sacked him, and they removed him from the ODI job in September.

His batting form hardly wavered, though. Every time he strode out to the middle, bat horizontal in his hands, neck rotating slightly, taking in the light of the day, runs were always expected. Only in the World T20 did Mushfiqur slow down, but otherwise he remained in form. He has the most runs by a Bangladesh captain across all formats and the most in matches lost. Shakib is the captain who has scored best when Bangladesh are winning, but Mushfiqur has showed that a captain doesn't necessarily have to suffer when the team is losing.

Even when he wasn't scoring runs, back in 2011, Mushfiqur remained the hardest-working batsman in Bangladesh. He would bat before and after scheduled training - which has now become a norm for the younger members of the team, though no one does it as regularly as Mushfiqur.

He had wretchedly poor form in the 2011 World Cup. It is hard to remember him clearing the 30-yard circle during the home tournament, and that was among the reasons Bangladesh fared so poorly. His elevation as captain inspired skepticism, particularly considering he was taking over from Shakib. Mushfiqur had only just confirmed his place in the team, but having won his first match as captain with a six, he went from strength to strength as a batsman.

Mushfiqur says that he wants to look forward now, with the captaincy gone and him now having to playing only as batsman-wicketkeeper. "The last two or three years have gone well for me, but that is in the past," he said. "The new year will start with the World Cup. If we can do well, it will send a message to the others that Bangladesh can play well in such conditions. We are all looking forward to playing well at the World Cup.

"It feels good to contribute when there is extra pressure in the middle. I hope to continue this next year, and it is not just me. If all the players contribute, we can have a positive result," he said.

Despite all his runs in losing causes, Mushfiqur is a team player. He regards his contributions during Bangladesh's 8-0 drubbing of Zimbabwe in Tests and ODIs as his best performances.

Mushfiqur is closely following developments over the antipodean summer, since he hasn't played in Australia since 2006. Among Bangladesh's senior players, he is the only one who hasn't played Test or ODI cricket in the 2015 World Cup host countries.

"I have some idea how the wicket will play there, though I haven't played there for a long time. I think the last time I played there was some Under-19 matches in 2006.

"People are saying that conditions will help fast bowlers there but I personally feel that it won't present a lot of swing or seam in such a big tournament. It may be bouncy, which is quite normal.

"If we can play the side shots well, scoring runs may become easier. The batsmen have to do the bulk of the work. We are having nets, using the bowling machine. We may not get similar conditions but we are trying our best with the present resources," he said.

Mushfiqur has made the best of the resources he has been given, both in the country and in terms of his own talent. He has raised his skill level, and is now a different batsman than the one who debuted in 2005, who would sometimes move away from the line of the ball. He doesn't only rely on playing straight against spin, as he did in 2007; he can bring out the slog-sweep any time and mostly succeeds with it.

He has had one decent World Cup, one poor one, and is now bracing for his third. He won't be captaining the side, but he has set the team up for the tournament. He doesn't back off from a challenge and is not easily jolted by what happens around him. Bigger and longer challenges await, but Mushfiqur has always lived and died by the sword.