Bright starts, familiar flaws - Takeaways from Bangladesh's Lahore malfunction

Tanzid Hasan and Parvez Hossain are still a work in progress, but they have shown the T20 attitude the Bangladesh openers have previously lacked. They are willing to go after good bowling attacks in the powerplay, and as they showed in the third T20I on Sunday, can take their partnership deep too. Tanzid has been on a six-hitting spree against UAE and Pakistan, while Parvez now has two good knocks in five games.

Bangladesh's team management appeared to misread the team's needs in Lahore. In near-perfect batting conditions in which Tanzid gave them quick starts in all three games, the think tank kept sending captain Litton Das and Towhid Hridoy ahead of in-form hitter Jaker Ali. It seemed like they weren't willing to innovate. Litton and Hridoy struggled to keep the openers' momentum, and then left too much to do for the rest of the batters. Jaker, who is skilled at finding boundaries regularly, would have benefitted from being promoted up the order with a few extra overs to play. Hridoy was out of touch, and Litton seemed confused with his role, whether to drop anchor or go on the attack.

Bangladesh had several injuries before and during this T20I series. Shoriful Islam pulled his groin after bowling three balls in the second game, while Mustafizur Rahman was injured in the IPL, before the Pakistan series. Taskin Ahmed's ankle trouble has kept him out for the last two months, while Nahid Rana opted out of the series due to personal reasons.

With a number of players unavailable, Bangladesh will have to identify a T20 bowling attack. Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Hasan Mahmud were expensive in the three matches against Pakistan, while Shoriful looked to be moving the new ball well. Mustafizur effectively won Bangladesh's only game in their last six outings, but the injury ruled him out in Pakistan. The question should also be asked now, whether Bangladesh want Rana for every format.

The absence of Shakib Al Hasan has left a significant void in Bangladesh's spin attack which now struggles in batting-friendly conditions. The bowling unit was on dominant at home and in the West Indies last year, with Mahedi Hasan single-handedly restricting the opposition batters on slow and low pitches. However, he struggled against UAE's Muhammad Waseem and Asif Khan. It's concerning that team's premier spinner featured in only three out of six matches.

Rishad Hossain has also leaked a lot of runs across the last two series, often missing his lengths. Rishad had an excellent 2024 - especially in the T20 World Cup where he was one of the top wicket-takers - but he failed to hit his stride so far this year. Bangladesh's spinners have also been vulnerable to slog sweep, which suggests a need to rethink their line of attack.

While there are plenty of spin bowling allrounders in the Bangladesh T20 team, there is a clear lack of fast bowling allrounders. Mahedi, recently named as Litton's deputy, is an offspinner who bats in the middle order. So does Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Rishad has a similar role, although his batting hasn't lived up to expectations.

The issue, however, is that Bangladesh's domestic cricket currently lacks any such prominent names. Tanzim has shown the potential to be a handy allrounder provided he can keep his core skills intact, while the BCB should also consider bringing back Mohammad Saifuddin into the mix.