Why the Wellington Test is key for Shadman, Mominul, Liton and Ebadot
Strong performances from Shadman Islam, Liton Das, Mominul Haque and Ebadot Hossain will not only help Bangladesh’s chances in Wellington, but will give them some breathing room in the Test squad too
Mohammad Isam07-Mar-2019With the Test series against New Zealand in the balance, Bangladesh will have a point to prove in the second Test in Wellington, despite a squad that appears to lack balance. ESPNcricinfo looks at four Bangladesh players who will need good performances to give the team much-needed stability in the absence of senior players like Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim, and give themselves, too, more space in the Test side.Getty ImagesShadman IslamA compact left-handed batsman, Shadman was impressive for the short periods – 43 and 90 minutes – he lasted during the Hamilton Test. His choice of shots seemed conservative for most of his innings, and he only took on Trent Boult and Neil Wagner after he had seen the ball properly.Shadman, however, will have to curb the instinct of looking to break out of a dot-ball rut by trying to play across the line. In both innings, his roll of the wrist while flicking or pulling, did not always time well with the pace of the delivery. If Shadman is successful in the rest of the series, he may well go on to become Tamim Iqbal’s long-term opening partner.Mominul HaqueBefore the Hamilton Test Mominul was equal with Tamim Iqbal for the most Test centuries by a Bangladesh batsman. But all eight of Mominul’s hundreds have come at home, six of them at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram. His away average is significantly lower at 23.84 compared to a home average of 56.97.Incidentally, Mominul came into the Bangladesh team in 2012 as someone who tackled pace better than most in his age bracket at the time. He has good memories of Wellington from the tour two years ago, when he batted for more than three hours on the first afternoon, making 64 runs, mainly providing Bangladesh with a platform. The side would need him to score big this time, at the Basin Reserve too.Getty ImagesLiton DasLiton possibly wouldn’t have had a chance had Mushfiqur Rahim been fit, so it is up to him now to ensure that his New Zealand tour finally takes off, after only 3 runs in the three ODIs, and scores of 29 and 1 in Hamilton.Since his breakthrough century against India in the Asia Cup final last September, Liton has not hit form consistently, scoring only fifty in each of the three formats. He is regarded, however, as a batsman for the future, particularly in the Bangladesh top order, although now he has to make do with batting at No 7. Before Mushfiqur returns to the XI, Liton has two more innings to give himself a bit of breathing room and make a case for his selection.Ebadot HossainEbadot was the most impressive of Bangladesh’s pace bowlers in Hamilton, on his debut against a solid batting line-up and could have had a wicket off his second ball, had Soumya Sarkar not dropped Tom Latham in the slips, with the left-hander yet to open his account. It was a cruel blow for Ebadot, who toiled hard for the rest of the game.With a hint of Brett Lee in his run-up, Ebadot bowled faster than Khaled Ahmed or Abu Jayed, although he needs to be patient and stick to a line and length, rather than exploring varying lengths. For example, it was too early for him to try a Neil Wagner-like bouncer barrage in his debut Test.If he can be consistent with his pace, Ebadot has a future in Bangladesh cricket, but he will need wickets to show for his potential.