“It’s a bit of a relief that we don’t have to face him.” - Aiden Markram on Shakib Al Hasan’s absence.
Telford Vice / Cape Town
SOME match previews are a chore to write. An angle needs to be conjured or contrived, followed by a few hundred words of conjecture that are likely to be proven mostly mistaken by the time the first ball is bowled. This isn’t one of those previews.
The first Test of Bangladesh’s series against South Africa was to have been Shakib Al Hasan’s grand farewell in this format to a team and their supporters who have leant too heavily on his talent and skill in the course of his 71 Tests, 247 ODIs and 129 T20Is. He is set to retire from the international game entirely after the Champions Trophy in Pakistan next February and March.
But Shakib jolted that narrative off course on Thursday by withdrawing from the Test squad citing doubts over his personal security. He joined Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League in November 2023 and was elected to parliament in January this year. On August 5, the despised Hasina’s government collapsed and the now former prime minister fled the country in the wake of weeks of public uprising over job reservation for descendants of veterans of Bangladesh’s liberation war against Pakistan from March to December 1971.
Hundreds are estimated to have been killed and thousands injured in the brutal suppression of the protests meted out by police and groups loyal to Hasina. Shakib himself is among 147 people who have been charged with the murder of a protesting garment worker, Mohammed Rubel, who died two days after being shot in Dhaka on August 5.
Shakib was playing in the Global T20 Canada at the time. But Rubel’s father, Rafiqul Islam, who laid the charges, has argued that “some of the accused as per instruction directly or indirectly from some others opened fire while hundreds of students including Rubel were protesting”. Hence Shakib has reportedly been advised against returning to Bangladesh.
At his press conference on Sunday, Aiden Markram was asked, three times, variations on the theme of whether he would miss playing against Shakib. His response, distilled and edited, was: “It’s a bit of a relief that we don’t have to face him. I assume his experience would be of massive importance in the changeroom, as well.”
This kind of stuff is far beyond the realm of the humble match preview. But it wasn’t the only headline that crashed out of cricket in Bangladesh last week. On Tuesday, the BCB suspended head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe. On Thursday he was sacked and replaced by Phil Simmons.
The suits acted against Hathurusinghe for two reasons. He allegedly hit one of his players during a World Cup match against New Zealand in Chennai in October because, in Hathurusinghe’s estimation, the player had taken too long to run drinks to the Bangladesh batters in the middle. The other issue is that, reports say, Hathurusinghe took 112 leave days last year and 59 this year. Contractually, he is allowed only 45 such days per annum.
The news from the South African side of the dressingroom divide seemed significant before all that happened. This will, after all, be the first international played in Bangladesh since Hasina was deposed and will thus be imbued with special significance.
Kagiso Rabada returns to the ground where, aged only 20 and before he had played any of the 64 Tests that make him the most experienced member of the current squad, he took 6/16 in an ODI against Bangladesh in July 2015. It was his debut in the format and his fifth international, and it included a hattrick: he bowled Tamim Iqbal, had Litton Das caught at midwicket, and trapped Mahmudullah in front with consecutive deliveries.
But wait. There’s more. Rabada needs one more wicket to join Dale Steyn, Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini, Allan Donald and Morné Morkel in South Africa’s 300 club in Tests. How many overs Rabada will be given is another matter.
The South Africans asked their hosts to provide eight net bowlers to help them prepare for the match and adjust to the conditions. The request came with a proviso — six of the bowlers needed to be spinners.
When: October 21 to 25, 2024; 9.30am Local Time (5.30am SAST, 9am IST)
Where: Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
What to expect: Spin, spin, spin and more spin. Let’s hope the pitch is better than the surface prepared for the most recent Test at the ground, against New Zealand in December 2023. The match was over in 177.1 overs with spinners taking all but five of the 35 wickets that fell to bowlers. The ICC handed down an “unsatisfactory” rating because of chronically inconsistent bounce from the outset.
Team news:
Bangladesh:
Hasan Murad replaces Shakib Al Hasan in the squad, but seems unlikely to get a game.
Possible XI: Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Kumer Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed
South Africa:
Temba Bavuma is out of the match with an elbow injury. Aiden Markram, who has captained South Africa in 35 white-ball internationals, takes charge of the Test team for the first time.
Possible XI: Aiden Markram (capt), Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Ryan Rickelton, Kyle Verreynne, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Dane Piedt
What they said:
“Spinners usually play a strong role in Mirpur. They don’t have to try anything extra. They have to stick to the process and bowl every ball for the team. We have to find a way to take 20 wickets, which will become easier if we stick to the process.” — Najmal Hossain on his team’s bowling tactics.
“Spin is obviously a big talking point, especially being from South Africa. We don’t get conditions like this at home, so it’s an exciting challenge for us to face. Especially for a team who are relatively young and haven’t played Test cricket here. It excites you as a player to be exposed to new conditions, learn more about the game we love, and take those lessons with you.” — Aiden Markram sees a half-full glass of spin.
Cricbuzz
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