e_Paper, Sunday, August 20, 2017

20
SUNDAY, AUGUST 20, 2017
DT
Sports
MD MANIK
OPINION
What next for Mominul?
• Ali Shahriyar Bappa
2013 -2015
Mominul Haque has been dropped from
the first Test match squad against Australia.
It must be hard for the fans to
digest Mominul’s exclusion as he was
compared with the legendary Sir Don
Bradman just 12 months ago .
The left-handed batsman’s recent loss
of form is the reason behind his axing.
But the question remains, did the Tigers
team management carry out the proper
approach for the batsman, who was once
considered the most consistent and one
of the best Bangladesh batsman in Tests?
Let us consider Mominul’s situation.
The start of his career was like a dream
for him. He scored 10 consecutive Test
half-centuries in his first eleven matches.
At one stage of his career, in the late 2015,
the average rose to 56.
But from 2016 onwards, the scenario
changed for Mominul. He played two
Tests in 2016 and three this year. In fact,
Bangladesh only played seven Tests in
these two years. Mominul got injured
ahead of the second Test against New
Zealand in Christchurch in January, 2017,
while he was dropped from the Colombo
Test in March against Sri Lanka. So in two
years, Mominul averaged only 23.2 as he
scored 232 in 10 innings. Definitely a drop
in standard from the top for Mominul.
Among these five Tests, Mominul
played two matches against England
(scoring nought and 27 in the first Test
and 66 and one in the second) at home
Mats Inns Runs Ave HS 100s 50s
17 30 1456 56.00 181 4 9
2016 - 2017
Mats Inns Runs Ave HS 100s 50s
5 10 232 23.20 66 0 2
OVERALL
Mats Inns Runs Ave HS 100s 50s
22 40 1688 46.88 181 4 11
while he contested one Test against New
Zeland away (making 64 and 23). He
played once against India (scoring 12 and
27) away and contested one against Sri
Lanka (making seven and five) away.
As a Test playing nation, question
arises as to why Bangladesh play so less
Tests compared to the other teams?
That’s a topic for another day, but the
point is when the Tigers’ best Test batsman
(statistically until 2015) gets the
opportunity to play only seven matches
over the next two years, then it becomes
extremely difficult for him to stay focused,
both technically and mentally, in
order to compete at the very top level of
professional cricket.
So it is the duty of the Tigers team
management to keep the momentum
right for a player like Mominul so that
whenever a call comes up, he can perform
well at the top level. One can’t just
expect a guy playing Test cricket after
eight-10 months and always score tons of
runs straightaway.
The problem for Mominul is that he
was tagged as a Test specialist. If we look
at other young players like Sabbir Rahman,
Mosaddek Hossain and Mehedi
Hasan Miraz, they have been gradually
introduced in the different formats of the
game, while Mominul always has to wait
between different Bangladesh Test series’.
One fifty in the last six innings is not
enough for a player like Mominul to retain
his place in the Test team, such logic
is legitimate enough. But the question
remains, is he given 100% gametime
and other facilities to score half-century
in every two or three innings against
top-quality opposition?
Chief national selector Minhajul Abedin
informed that the team management
has specific plan regarding Mominul. He
is also under consideration for the tour
of South Africa in September this year,
which is Bangladesh’s next Test mission
after the Australia series.
Lets say Mominul is selected for that
tour; it is highly unlikely for him to go
there and score fifties and centuries on
fast and bouncy pitches against the likes
of Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and
Kagiso Rabada, among others. But for
Momnul, such kind of scenario is happening
quite regularly as there was no
“A” team tour for almost two years.
So what next for Mominul? What is
the solution? That answer must be solved
soon but one thing’s for sure, the BCB has a
tough task in its hand to preserve the talent
and confidence of a player like Mominul. •
ASCENT CORPORATE FIVE-A-SIDE SOCCER CUP
Bando, Meena Sweets and City Bank win big
• Tribune Report
The action was fast and furious in
the opening match of day three as
IPDC and Gemsclip locked horns.
This was a high intensity encounter
as both teams were matched in
every part of the pitch. Gemsclip
took the impetus with Matiur, who
displayed some stunning skills and
scored a brace for the online stationary
supplier.
BRAC BANK 7-1 EUROVIGIL
It wasn’t however, the best of starts
for newbie Euro Vigil, who were on
the receiving end of a 7-1 thrashing
by Brac Bank. The banker’s experience
was clear as they released
a swarm of bees on the security
firm’s goalkeeper.
GE 0-7 MARICO
Meanwhile, Marico also made their
debut appearance memorable by
hammering General Electric in a
seven-goal rout. It was a splendid
display by a newcomer in this
tournament as they rampaged
the GE goalkeeper in countless
attacks.
BONGO 3-4 ENERGYPAC
This was a match for the neutrals
as both Bongo and Energy Pac went
at each other with hammers and
tongs. In fact the two teams were
so evenly matched that it took a
strike by Shamim of Energypac in
injury time to settle the score.
LAL TEER 1-0 BITOPI
Patience and perseverance always
pay dividends in the end and Anik
Action from the Ascent Corporate Soccer Cup in Dhaka yesterday COURTESY
of Lal Teer scored literally with the
last kick of the game.
NEO ZIPPER 8-0 IDLC
Neo Zipper are looking ominous in
the group stage and could well be
another dark horse emerging from
Group K. They humbled IDLC in
a 8-0 drubbing as Adnan of Neo
Zipper netted six times while Joni
and Rashed added to the goal
spree.
AAMRA COMPANIES 1-7 MTB
Aamra’s miseries continued after
they were systematically taken
apart by the veteran Team MTB.
CHEVRON 1-2 MULTIMODE
Multimode looked a far better side
after their defeat on Friday by Ascent
as they narrowly beat Chevron
in an enthralling 2-1 encounter.
Raju and Mizan had an exceptional
match for Multimode netting one
each.
CITY BANK 9-0 FOGG
Fogg found out first hand how
cruel the Ascent Cup can be to
newcomers as they succumbed to
a nine-nil hammering. However,
their country director was in good
spirit to see his team having a fun
outing on the pitch and be a part of
this prestigious tournament.
STERLING 3-1 RAHIMAFROOZ
Group E otherwise known as the
“Group of Death” had the last remaining
match as Sterling and
Rahimafrooz went head to head.
All three teams in this group have
been evenly matched, even though
Dhaka Tribune have topped the
group.
MEENA SWEETS 8-2 BAT
BAT’s introduction to this year’s
edition was not a kind one as Meena
Sweets made small work of
them. Punel had a glorious fivegoal
haul and was seen running
rings around the BAT defense.
BANDO 11-0 ROBI
Bando’s annihilation of Robi was
made more spectacular by an exceptional
performance from Shakil.
He may well be a contender for
the Most Valuable Player though
it’s too early to tell.