Tigers seek to foster ‘healthy competition’

Bangladesh are enjoying a successful spell in the T20I format, having won five out of their last six matches, including the eight-wicket win over Netherlands in Sylhet on Saturday, and in every one of those victories a different player has emerged as the player-of-the match.

Taskin Ahmed, with his figures of 4-28, won the prize against the Dutch in the first of three T20Is. Before him, Parvez Hossain Emon and Jaker Ali won it for their match-winning half-centuries against Pakistan at home while skipper Litton Das and all-rounder Mahedi Hasan won it in Sri Lanka for a blistering 76 and a four-wicket haul respectively.

Five different players emerging as match winners in the last five victories is a sign of a balanced squad — one that is not dependent on one or two individuals. Moreover, in every game, these stellar performances were supplemented with important contributions from other players as well.

Against the Dutch, Saif Hassan put up one such all-round showing.

Saif, making his comeback to the T20I side after nearly two years, got into the playing XI replacing all-rounder Shamim Hossain, who hadn’t fully recovered from a recent fever.

He grabbed his chance with both hands, taking two wickets with his part-time off-spin, and also scoring a blistering 36 not out off 19 balls, which included one four and three sixes.

Saif was included in the squad as a back-up opener, but against Netherlands showed his value as a handy off-spinner and a middle-order batter.

But even after performing so well, Saif’s position in the team is far from secure in today’s second T20I against Netherlands because if Shamim regains his fitness, he could come back into the side as the first choice.

Still, Saif coming off the bench and making an impact will benefit the side as it encourages “healthy competition” within the players, felt the team’s assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin.

“Whoever comes in, if he performs well, it creates healthy competition within the team. That will bring very good results for the side. The more performers we have sitting on the sidelines, the more impact it will have on the team,” Salahuddin told the media yesterday.

“We are trying to move away from a mindset where one might secretly wish for a teammate not to perform well. When competition among the boys increases, their standards will rise,” he added.

Salahuddin, who has worked closely with Saif over the years when he was trying to claw his way back into the national team, praised the 26-year-old’s commitment but requested all to not go overboard in praising him.

“I have requested before, don’t put someone on a pedestal too quickly nor drag them down in a hurry. Him playing well in his comeback game is a testament to his strong mentality. Not everyone can bounce back from being on the backfoot.”