Bangladesh’s All-Time Test XI

Compiling Combined XIs, including All-Time XIs, is almost the single greatest hobby of cricket fans, and the great thing about it is that you can change your mind all of the time and it doesn’t matter. 

You can make 100 different criteria for it, and do it in all sorts of different ways, and nobody will tell you that you are wrong -- or, more correctly, everyone will tell you that you are wrong no matter how you go about it.

But, while recency bias plagues most All-Time XI lists, where how far you go back tends to depend on how old you are, with Bangladesh, we don’t really have to worry about that, as we can only go back to 2000 anyway, as that is when they were granted test status, and not only that but they have improved dramatically in the time since then, and hence most of the best players really are in the past few years. Indeed, the vast majority of the All-Time Test XI are probably in, or recently in, the current team.

Pre-History

But what about the time before 2000? What about when they formed their first national team in 1972, soon after their independence in December 1971?

Well, first of all, that was a national team, not a Test team, and secondly, no one from that era appears to merit consideration with the possible exception of Raqibul Hasan, a key figure from the 1970s and 80s.

Bangladesh-born players could have played test cricket for India all the way back to 1932, but none of them did. From 1952-1971, they could have played for Pakistan too.

One Bangladeshi player did play Test cricket for Pakistan, though, in Niaz Ahmed. A right-armed fast bowler, he was born in Benares, Uttar Pradesh in India, but moved to Dhaka, then in Pakistan but now Bangladesh, and played 2 Tests, scoring 17 runs without being out and taking 3 wickets for 94 at an average of 31.33. But he is unlikely to be good enough to make our list.

There is also Khokhan Sen, a wicket keeper from Comilla, now Bangladesh, who played 14 tests for India from 1948 to 1952, just before Pakistan had their own team, though his record suggests he wouldn’t make it to our all-time Bangladesh XI either.

And I could even consider another wicket keeper in Bransby Beauchamp Cooper, from Dacca (now Dhaka) who played for Australia in the very first Test way back in 1877, but didn’t play any other Tests.

Nor, in my assessment, do we need to consider the other stars for Bangladesh in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, like Gazi Ashraf or Minhajul Abedin, as they wouldn’t be good enough to make our all-time Test XI for Bangladesh.

So that makes things simpler.

We start in 2000.

The Short-List

So, now that that is out of the way, how do I start this?

I could start with batting positions. I could do it based on statistics, or rankings.

Or I could do it by feel.

Let’s do it by feel.

After all, I can remember Bangladesh’s debut, and I can remember the match that caused them to get Test status, that famous ODI victory against a then-undefeated Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup, the team who went on to make the World Cup final, before running out of steam to lose to Australia.

Of course, Bangladesh getting Test status in 2000 was very premature, and probably 2006 or even 2008 would have been a fairer date. It was also a major mistake to force them to play so many matches early on, as it created this very negative feeling, which is still prevalent today, whereby if they start losing, even after being well ahead, they tend to just give up.

There is this feeling of “not again” such that they can be 400 runs ahead and the moment that the opponent gets any kind of a comeback going, Bangladesh as a team tends to give up.

That in many ways skews the statistics, especially of early players, and hence means that perhaps we should throw the statistics away, and instead go by feel.

So I am going to go by feel here, and I am going to start with the best.

And the best is Shakib al Hasan.

I’m sorry, it just is. No other player comes close. Shakib was regularly rated as the best all-rounder in the entire world, in Tests, ODIs and T20Is, often all at once. He was making yearly world XIs year after year. He would have been a walk-up start for virtually any other Test team for years on end.

He is our first pick.

Next is Mustafizur Rahman.

I know that The Fizz retired from Tests and just plays ODIs and T20Is, and he has only played 15 Tests, and his bowling average of 36.74 suggests that other players were better, but I saw him play and he was amazing so he makes the cut. It’s not even close. He is my number 2.

Next is Tamim Iqbal.

In 2010, he was named Wisden’s Test Cricketer of the Year, the first Bangladesh player to get such an honour, so he makes the cut.

Next up is Mushfiqur Rahim.

He is one of Bangladesh’s best-ever batsmen, a real fighter, who often partnered with Shakib al Hasan for great partnerships. He also kept wicket. Whether he is Bangladesh’s best-ever wicket keeper is debatable, and the simple answer is probably not, but the fact that he was able to bat this well while keeping wicket is impressive, and he is still a good batsman today.

Who next?

Well, why not Taijul Islam, who is Bangladesh’s highest-ever test wicket taker, with 272 test wickets at 30.33?

He’s not the worst pick, and, while he didn’t exactly set the world on fire in the recent test series in Australia, it was more because he was underbowled than anything, as he was still taking wickets.

Who else?

Probably Mashrafe Mortaza deserves a spot.

After all, he wore his heart on his sleeve in doing amazing things for Bangladesh, bowling his heart out and batting very well in the lower order, keeping the team together.

While I’m here, it would be remiss for me to miss Mohammad Rafique, who was the first Bangladesh bowler to get to 100 test wickets (and he finished on exactly 100) and who kept going when everyone else was giving up.

Litton Das is a major talent and I have to include him, but whether I open with him or bat him down the order is another issue, and I also have to consider whether he keeps wicket or not. He’s probably Bangladesh’s best-ever wicket keeper, but he’s also one of their best openers, and he doesn’t like to do both in the same test. So which role does he play?

Mahmudullah is a player he seemed almost talismanic for Bangladesh, with his batting and occasional spin bowling.

We need 2 more.

Is Mominul Haque too new to consider? The guy is an absolute gun. He is 2nd on Bangladesh’s all-time test run scoring list.

I am tempted to give Najmul Shanto a spot in my all-time team too.

Should we consider Mehidy Hasan Miraz? After all, he is 2nd on the all-time wicket taker’s list, and 10th on the run-scoring list for Bangladesh, which isn’t too bad?

Well, let’s have a look at our list so far, in batting order:

1. Tamim Iqbal 2. Litton Das 3. Mominul Haque 4. Najmul Shanto 5. Mushfiqur Rahim 6. Shakib al Hasan 7. Mahmudullah 8. Mehidy Hasan Miraz 9. Mashrafe Mortaza 10. Taijul Islam 11. Mohammad Rafique 12. Mustafizur Rahman

So we need to get rid of one.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz was brilliant in Darwin in Australia, and he had the credentials, but others think he is pretty poor. Shanto might be one to let go, but then we are struggling with enough power in the middle order. We could leave Mahmudullah out but then we are struggling with a deep enough batting line-up.

Statistically, Mohammad Rafique misses out, but he is worth more than his statistics.

Wait on, but what about Javed Omar and Imrul Keyes?

While they were pioneers of Bangladesh cricket, they averaged in the low 20s at test level, 22.05 and 24.28 respectively, and they were more off than on. They don’t compete with the likes of more recent greats like Tamim Iqbal and Litton Das.

Similarly, Mohammad Ashraful was good for one good innings in 100, and, while Habibul Bashar was good on his day, it just wasn’t consistent.

What about modern-day greats like Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, and Nahid Rana?

Shoriful was certainly great at Mackay, when he took a Bangladesh overseas record of 7/49, while Nahid Rana has a great reputation, and Taskin has been a solid performer for a long time, but I’m just not sure that they make it.

What if we remove Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mahmudullah from our list and include Nahid Rana?

That seems sensible.

The First Cut

1. Tamim Iqbal

2. Litton Das

3. Mominul Haque

4. Najmul Shanto

5. Mushfiqur Rahim

6. Shakib al Hasan

7. Mashrafe Mortaza

8. Taijul Islam

9. Mohammad Rafique

10. Mustafizur Rahman

11. Nahid Rana

It gives us 3 fast bowlers and 2 spin bowlers, plus Shakib al Hasan makes 3 spin bowlers.

But that’s a bit bowler-heavy, isn’t it?

Mashrafe is a number 8. He’s batting one spot too high.

So we need to remove a bowler and include a batsman.

I’m sorry, Rafique, but Mehidy Hasan Miraz has more wickets and bats much better.

The Second Cut

1. Tamim Iqbal

2. Litton Das

3. Mominul Haque

4. Najmul Shanto

5. Mushfiqur Rahim

6. Shakib al Hasan

7. Mehidy Hasan Miraz

8. Mashrafe Mortaza

9. Taijul Islam

10. Mustafizur Rahman

11. Nahid Rana

The next question is who keeps wickets out of Das and Mushi.

While Das doesn’t like to open and keep wickets, I think he has to, as he is the better keeper. But Mushi doesn’t mind keeping wickets, so maybe he does.

Oh, and our captain can be Mashrafe Mortaza, as he had much more heart than anyone else.

That’s our team. I think.

Of course, this is from the perspective of me, as an Australian, who doesn’t necessarily understand everything there is to do with Bangladesh cricket.

I have followed Bangladesh cricket a little bit from afar, but not so much.

Nah, stuff it, Rafique has to make it. I just can’t not have him there.

Am I dropping the Fizz?

But he’s sooo good.

He also barely played Tests.

I’m conflicted.

The Final Cut

1. Tamim Iqbal

2. Litton Das

3. Mominul Haque

4. Najmul Shanto

5. Mushfiqur Rahim (wk)

6. Shakib al Hasan

7. Mehidy Hasan Miraz

8. Mashrafe Mortaza (c)

9. Mohammad Rafique

10. Taijul Islam

11. Nahid Rana

There. We’ve got 4 spinners and 2 fast bowlers. It feels unbalanced. But I think we have to.

Bangladesh have just had so many good spin bowlers that it has to be this way.

Right. That’s settled. I think.

This is really hard!

Wait on. Why don’t I have one team for spinning decks and another for fast bowler's decks?

That sounds good. Then for fast bowler’s decks I can have something more like this one:

Fast Wicket XI

1. Tamim Iqbal

2. Litton Das

3. Mominul Haque

4. Najmul Shanto

5. Mushfiqur Rahim (wk)

6. Shakib al Hasan

7. Mahmudullah

8. Mashrafe Mortaza (c)

9. Mustafizur Rahman

10. Shoriful Islam

11. Nahid Rana

There we go. Much better.

Mahmudullah’s extra batting would be handier than Mehidy’s, if we didn’t need Mehidy’s spin bowling, I think.

Anyway, that’s about where I ended up.

It sure is tough!

It was harder than I thought it would be.