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After the kicking comes the clicking.Such a stark turnaround after 11 straight losses – the most recent: a complete shellacking by the West Indies – to defeat the World Cup hosts and favourites shouldn’t surprise anyone who follows Pakistan, of course. But in the end it was a confidence-boosting session among the players after the West Indies loss that triggered the reversal of fortune.”You can lose but when you start feeling it and realising that you played badly, we all had that realisation that we didn’t play well then,” said Mohammad Hafeez. “It’s not on especially to perform like that at a World Cup.””So we had that realisation. Everyone took responsibility. We all sat down, gave each other confidence. Somebody came to me and gave me that confidence, I went to somebody else and gave them that confidence. We made each other remember the good performances we’ve all put in. We had this desire to pick up a good, big win here and move on with that. We have been playing well as a team, but we weren’t able to close out and win games.”Today, every player expressed themselves, as a batsman, as a bowler, we all went on the field and did everything we could. We didn’t hold back. It’s a good sign that we have that winning feeling back in the dressing room. That will give us more confidence and hopefully we can maintain that.”Perhaps too much was made of that losing streak; the side that succumbed to Australia was essentially a second string team and they were competitive in two of the ODIs they played against England prior to the tournament. The inclusion of Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Hafeez and Shadab Khan has given the bowling line up, in particular, a very different look. But on top of that, Hasan Ali credited the belief instilled by coach Mickey Arthur for Pakistan’s about face.”After the first match we sat and we talked about our weaknesses and we talked about plans and execution and all these things,” said Hasan. “But one thing is very important, which is our coach is always backing us, so I think that moment was turning us because everybody is very confident and the guys want to win.”We were very disappointed we lost 11 games in a row but you know one thing is very important, we believe in ourselves and we know we needed just a little bit of a kick and then we will click. So I think we’ve got the kick and we are very happy.”It’s not often you come across fast bowlers who dabble in rhyming couplets, but Hasan may have nailed what many have tried to explain about Pakistan’s famous fluctuations.They just needed the right kick to click.

Mohammad Abbas took three quick wickets before rain ended play early in Gloucestershire’s reply to a formidable Leicestershire first innings on the second day of the County Championship match at the Fischer County Ground.Abbas, moving the ball prodigiously through the air and off the pitch, dismissed Miles Hammond caught behind, James Bracey leg before and Gareth Roderick caught behind before the weather closed in, leaving the Pakistan international with 3 for 10 from seven overs.Resuming on 343 for 5, the Foxes had quickly lost nightwatchman Chris Wright, driving at a delivery from Chad Sayers and edging a straightforward catch to first slip.Harry Dearden joined Colin Ackermann in compiling a partnership of 46 for the seventh wicket before Dearden was also caught off an edged drive, this time by Roderick off the bowling of Josh Shaw, a fifth catch in the innings for the Gloucestershire wicket-keeper.Ackermann was joined at the crease by the busy Lewis Hill, and after enjoying one piece of good fortune when he edged Ryan Higgins at catchable height straight between the wicketkeeper and first slip – neither of whom moved a muscle towards the ball – Hill went for his shots, hitting seven boundaries before hooking a David Payne bouncer into the hands of Graeme van Buuren at deep backward square.Dieter Klein saw Ackermann through to a half-century before being dismissed leg before by Shaw, and last man Abbas did not last long, bowled through the gate by the occasional off-spin of Chris Dent.When Gloucestershire began their reply, however, Abbas responded in kind. Swinging the ball away from the visitors’ left-handed opening pair, he repeatedly beat the bat before Hammond finally edged a catch through to Hill behind the stumps.Bracey too was beaten on several occasions before being dismissed leg before, and Roderick went first ball to a delivery which bounced and took the edge.Benny Howell survived a concerted leg before appeal, and he and Dent would have been relieved men when the occasional showers, which had already seen the players leave the field twice, settled into steady rain and prevented any further play for the day.

A blistering half-century from KL Rahul to begin their chase ensured Kings XI Punjab avoided the wooden spoon, scoring a consolation six-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings to finish their IPL 2019 campaign on a high. Rahul’s 71 off 36 balls as part of a 108-run opening stand with a sedate Chris Gayle powered Kings XI towards the target of 171, eventually knocked off with 12 balls to spare.The main objective for Super Kings, though, was to ensure the second innings lasted at least 14.3 overs, which would ensure their spot in the top two of the standings and an automatic berth in Tuesday’s Qualifier 1. Nicholas Pooran had threatened to overhaul the target in that span after taking over the reins from Rahul with some sensational big-hitting, but the spin duo of Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja continued slowed down the Kings XI charge long enough to get the job done.KL Rahul got to his half-century in just 19 balls•BCCI

Rahul’s innings turned Faf du Plessis’ superb 96 off 54 balls into a footnote. But the fall of du Plessis, Sam Curran’s third wicket on the day, ground the Super Kings innings to a halt at the death. They managed just seven runs off the last nine balls thanks to the brilliance of Curran and Mohammed Shami. It set up a cinch of a chase for Kings XI to give the home fans a bit of cheer at the end of another season in which they fell short of the playoffs.

Du Plessis turns it on

The South African’s innings was classically paced, easing his way to a half-century off 37 balls before bringing out the fireworks. Du Plessis added 120 for the second wicket with Suresh Raina, who made a 34-ball half-century of his own, to steer Super Kings through a majority of the innings after Shane Watson had lost his off stump to Curran in the Powerplay.ALSO READ: Raina’s return to form has made up for Watson’s strugglesBut Du Plessis ramped up the intensity from the 15th over. He charged M Ashwin twice in that frame, driving him for four and six before unleashing more carnage on Andrew Tye in the next over, cracking the first three balls for two fours and a six. Another pair of sixes off Curran took him into the 90s, the latter of which was flat-batted over the leg side to take him one shot away from a century – he had added 46 off the next 17 balls after reaching 50. But that’s when the wheels came off, both for du Plessis and Super Kings.Faf du Plessis was dismissed by Sam Curran when in sight of a century•BCCI

The Curran and Shami death choke

The England allrounder made his presence felt at various stages of the Super Kings innings. It was Curran who made the initial breakthrough. Raina then became his second victim when he got too cute trying to flick a slower ball past short fine-leg that instead became a simple catch for Shami on the ring.But his finest ball was the follow-up to du Plessis after a half-tracker had been belted over the leg side. Curran speared a yorker into the pads of du Plessis, who couldn’t get his bat down in time as the ball ricocheted off his toes on to the stumps, leaving the batsman bundled over on the ground.Shami then built off Curran’s trio of wickets in the final over with a pair of his own. Ambati Rayudu clipped a full ball in the air to deep midwicket before Kedar Jadhav flailed over a yorker that cannoned into off stump for a golden duck. Despite having plenty of wickets in hand thanks to the platform set by Raina and du Plessis, Super Kings stumbled in the last two overs leaving a well below-par total for Kings XI to get.

Harbhajan’s Jekyll & Hyde spell

During the Powerplay, it looked like Harbhajan Singh might be the reason for Super Kings to keep their fingers crossed for a Mumbai Indians loss to Kolkata Knight Riders later in the day to ensure a top-two finish. Harbhajan was pummelled by Rahul in his first two overs after opening with the new ball.After two sixes by Rahul to round off the second over, the batsman showed nifty footwork to carve Harbhajan over the off and leg side for three straight boundaries to start the fourth. He then charged Harbhajan off the fourth ball to hit him inside out over extra cover for six, and then ended the over with another straight drive for six to bring up a 19-ball half-century as the score stood at 60 for no loss.At that stage, Kings XI needed a very achievable 111 off 57 balls to make Super Kings sweat on the Mumbai result for a place in the top two.That equation was 65 off 27 balls by the time Harbhajan was reintroduced in the 11th. Within four balls, he was on a hat-trick having claimed both Rahul and the far more sedate Chris Gayle. Rahul miscued a drive after charging down the pitch before Gayle flat-batted a pull to long-on. Harbhajan fetched a third in his next over as Mayank Agarwal pulled him to Jadeja on the leg-side rope. Having conceded 41 off his first two overs, he took 3 for 16 off his final two to at least stem the bleeding.Pooran’s fiery cameo followed, in which he blasted three sixes in his 36 off 22 balls before Jadeja claimed him with seven needed for victory. Having taken three key wickets in the first innings, Curran appropriately finished off the chase with a boundary.

There must be something special about a 23-year-old bowler with limited experience if he is asked to bowl the Super Over in a high-stakes IPL game. Dinesh Karthik turned to Prasidh Krishna in Kolkata Knight Riders’ match against Delhi Capitals, and the paceman conceded just ten runs, with just the one four, and sent back Shreyas Iyer. Knight Riders failed to top the mark, but that’s another matter. Prasidh had made a mark in just his tenth IPL appearance.”Initially I was very happy, since the team trusted me to do the job. The result depended on that one over, so I was very happy, I enjoy taking responsibility for the team,” Prasidh, in Bengaluru for Knight Riders’ next game, said. “It was a task given (to me). I think I did pretty well. We ended up on the losing side, but we still have lots of positives to take.”Knight Riders had lost the services of local pacemen Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi to injuries well before the tournament began, and South Africa’s Anrich Nortje also pulled out because of a shoulder injury closer to the start of the action. That left the pace resources in the ranks looking rather thin, and though a few replacements have come in, Prasidh has got a start in all three games his team has played so far, and been impressive.As the numbers below suggest, he is at his most economical in the middle phase of games in the IPL, but at his best in terms of wicket-taking ability at the close. And, really, 9.58 isn’t terribly bad considering the way most end overs go in T20 games.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“They are looking at me to bowl anywhere in the game, because I do bowl (with) the new ball, I do bowl in the middle overs, I do bowl in the death. So yeah, they are depending on me to deliver,” he said.”It feels really nice as a bowler, as a youngster in the team, when you know you have your captain, your team, your coaching staff, everyone trusts in you – what else can you ask for? It’s only going up from there.”This is the era of variations, as many of them as possible, to be successful in the shortest format of the game. As far as Prasidh is concerned, though, it’s more important to stick to the plans. “Consistency is the best weapon any bowler can add to his armoury,” he said. “That’s one thing I have really worked on with Omkar Salvi (bowling coach), Abhishek Nayar (mentor), and all of them. Apart from that, I do work on the variations, I do bowl the slower one, the yorker, be it whatever it is. But it’s been more towards the consistency side, whatever I have been doing.”A bit of speed might be the next thing on the agenda: “A yorker at 130 and a yorker at 140-145 are two completely different parameters. So yeah, I would like to get speed as an aspect because that is something not everyone can do. So when I’m able to do it, I want to do it consistently.”In the Super Over against Delhi Capitals, Prasidh bowled two balls to Iyer and four to Rishabh Pant. Tough opponents of course – “I tried to keep it away from their hitting zone” – but it doesn’t compare to the sort of fear Andre Russell instills; Prasidh hasn’t had a chance to bowl much to Russell in the nets, but has got a taste of the Dre Russ treatment.”As bowlers in KKR, when we are bowling to him, we know we are bowling to the best batsman in the world when it comes to T20, at least in the hitting ability that he has. To be able to bowl to him every day, you still have to learn for yourself,” Prasidh said. “Any wrong ball, you’re going to go for a six. So that does really help us when we’re bowling against someone else.”In one of the practice games I played, I did get hit for a couple of sixes. Other than that, I don’t really get to bowl much to him in the nets, because it’s usually him hitting it out of the park and I do the initial part of the nets and then he usually bats at the last. So by then I am almost done bowling. It’s been challenging.”

Wasim Khan, the PCB’s new managing director, believes there is very little chance of bilateral cricket ties resuming between India and Pakistan in the near future but also thinks it might be time for a new strategy to get the two teams together. Wasim, who was previously chief executive at the Leicestershire County Cricket Club, spoke to reporters in Lahore for the first time since taking up his new role earlier this week.”It’s a massive challenge,” he said. “And I don’t think we’re going to see any solutions anytime soon. I think elections are going on in India, so nothing is going to happen in the near future. But, we are trying and [PCB chairman] Ehsan [Mani] is trying hard to get them to the table and get things moving.”We keep on asking them to play us but let’s create a situation where they ask us to play. I think we need to do that. It’s sad that we are not playing against them but life continues. We need to move forward and carry on. We can’t wait forever to play India. Our focus is to develop Pakistan cricket and get our team and players a lot of success at the international level.”Since 2009, the PCB has been pushing the BCCI for more matches between the two countries. It began during the Zaka Ashraf regime and reached its end during Najam Sethi’s, when the ICC rejected the case he filed against the BCCI for dishonouring an agreement to play seven bilateral series between 2014 and 2023.Mani stood by Wasim’s views on India-Pakistan cricket. “Until it’s not done (elections in India) there is no point in engaging them at this stage because we have to start over with new people in the BCCI,” Mani said. “But our relations with the Indian board are very good and we have mutual respect but we won’t be imploring them to play us. If we can take Pakistan cricket to a level where we are among the top three teams in the world, they will come on their own to play with us.”I get a lot of messages from Indian journalists and public about their wish to play against Pakistan. Unfortunately, politics sneaks in which I don’t believe sports should ever be mixed up with. But it happens in our environment, especially in India it happens a lot.”Wasim has also been handed the responsibility of revamping Pakistan’s domestic cricket, which has often been cited as a reason for the team’s inconsistent performances.”We need to get the consistency and sustainability so we are looking at our internal affairs,” Wasim said. “Everything will be done but for now let’s get our domestic cricket right and make our grassroots stronger than ever and make our international team more sustainable in the near future so that they are successful at all levels.”

The sub-plot of a second caught-behind appeal against Cheteshwar Pujara not given by the on-field umpire threatened to overshadow an exemplary partnership between him and Sheldon Jackson, but at the end of the fourth day’s play, Saurashtra had marched inexorably towards the Ranji Trophy 2018-19 final.Saurashtra were in a deep hole at 3 for 2, and then 23 for 3, when Jackson joined Pujara. Both men ground Karnataka to dust, and stayed unseparated for the rest of the day to take Saurashtra to 224 for 3 at stumps, just 55 runs away from victory.Pujara was batting on a serene 108, with Jackson on 90 in a partnership that’s been worth 201 runs so far. Pujara’s concentration and deft use of hands was the calm pillar around which Saurashtra built their chase, while Jackson showed equal composure in dealing with the Karnataka bowlers.ALSO READ: Left-arm wristspin to left-arm orthodox: the other Jadeja finally gets it rightTheir partnership wasn’t without incident though. A passionate 1000-plus strong crowd at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium made its displeasure vocal, as Pujara’s fifty was greeted with boos. When both batsmen walked in for lunch, tea and stumps, there was a vociferous chant of “Cheater, cheater”. It stemmed from a caught-behind decision that was turned down by umpire Saiyed Khalid in the 25th over, the second over after lunch. Vinay Kumar got one to shape away from Pujara, and the batsman was drawn into a push. On replays, there was an audible sound as the ball passed bat, though it was impossible to say without the aid of technology if that was indeed a sound made by ball hitting bat.Pujara, on 34 then, appeared unmoved even as Vinay and the Karnataka fielders almost pleaded with the umpire, but to no avail. Saurashtra were still on their lunch score of 68 for 3 at that stage. This followed from Saurashtra’s first innings, where too a confident appeal for caught behind had been turned down against Pujara.ALSO READ: Pujara gets unexpected gift on 31st birthday That moment apart, Pujara was in supreme control during his innings. He nudged and pushed the ball into gaps as is his wont, played close to his body, and capitalised on anything too full with leg-side flicks. Even when he pushed at the ball he did so with soft hands, ensuring that the rare edge didn’t carry. He had started with a more attacking mindset. Getting the shine off the ball and riding out the first session has been key in this match, and Pujara’s initial aggression could have been an attempt to counter that. Once Harvik Desai became the third wicket to fall, caught brilliantly by KV Siddharth diving to his right at gully, Pujara reverted to caution.In Jackson, he found the perfect ally. He has been Saurashtra’s leading run-getter this season, with his tally at 828 runs now, and he showed excellent temperament. He didn’t try to rush the spinners, even when their bowling wasn’t particularly threatening, and had a straight bat to the seamers, keeping the ball out. As he settled, he did play a few more shots, but kept the ball along the ground. His judgment of length held him in good stead, as he cut and drove with precision.The same pair had put on an unbroken 136 in Saurashtra’s quarter-final win against Uttar Pradesh, when the team chased down a Ranji record 372 in the fourth innings.At the start, left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja had wrapped up Karnataka’s innings in his first over, the second of the day. Shreyas Gopal couldn’t add to his overnight 61 and was caught off a leading edge, while last man Ronit More was trapped in front as Karnataka were bowled out for 239, setting Saurashtra 279 to win.It wasn’t going to be an easy chase on a fourth-day pitch that had already seen uneven bounce on the first three days, but Saurashtra had the confidence of their quarter-final chase, albeit on a much truer surface. That confidence didn’t count for much when three wickets fell in the first six overs, but the team’s two most pedigreed batsmen then rose to the occasion to put them on the brink of a third Ranji final in six years.

Kemar Roach admits he is “very proud” of himself after another eye-catching performance with the ball against England.Roach followed his 5 for 17 in the first innings of the Barbados Test with 4 for 30 in Antigua to help West Indies take a grip on the second Test. Afterwards he expressed his delight both at “backing up” the Barbados performance, and the nature of pitches used so far in this series. He has currently taken nine wickets in three innings at 11.66 – more than anyone else to date.”Backing up performances is very important,” Roach said. “The opposition come back hard following a defeat and England are a quality side. We were on top of them for a while, but they fought back hard. They put up a good fight. So to get four wickets … I’m very proud of myself.”I’ve been working hard in the nets and working hard in the gym. I’m getting older so I have to look after my body and train harder. I’ve been doing a lot of running and that has helped my rhythm a lot.”It is a tough pitch for the batsmen. There is variable bounce. It was pretty green and it did a lot with the ball. But you have to be consistent as a bowler. You have to make the batsmen play as much as possible.”The last Test in Barbados was good for fast bowlers as well. It’s rare in the Caribbean. But this was an eye-opener. I’m pretty happy with the pitch as a fast bowler. It’s good for cricket, I think.”Roach also gave praise to his fast-bowling colleagues, who sustained the pressure on England, as well as the quality of the slip catching, which resulted in one superb effort to end Joe Root’s innings, as John Campbell made great ground to parry a high chance to Shai Hope”I got fantastic support from the others bowlers and the catching was also quite good,” Roach said. “We saw what Campbell did when he jumped to make the catch off Root, which eventually went to Hope. We were ‘on’ today.”With Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder and now Alzarri Joseph coming into the team, it’s a quality bowling attack. The guys have been doing fantastic over the last year-and-a-half. It’s a very good bowling attack and, if we keep working hard, we can put some numbers on theboard for West Indies.”

Australia are exploring a data-driven, high-risk, high-reward tactic to negate Virat Kohli in the upcoming four-Test series that begins in Adelaide on Thursday.The India captain’s peerless form heading into the series and the challenge of breaking through his formidable defence makes him the most valuable scalp in the visiting side and data produced by Cricviz may have unearthed the most likely method for capturing his wicket.A recent article by Cricviz writer Ben Jones, which analysed Kohli’s batting, caught the eye of some members of the Australian camp, including Justin Langer. The head coach distributed the article among his players before they arrived in Adelaide and ESPNcricinfo understands it has been discussed in a team meeting to establish bowling plans to each Indian batsman.Teams and coaching staff typically use a range of analytics resources and video along with personal experiences and observations to formulate their plans and, while Australia’s final plans for Kohli will ultimately be decided over the next few days – and adapted as the Test and series unfolds – the fact that such an article has even been thrown into the mix shows they are willing to search far and wide while considering ideas from outside the established brains trust.The basic premise of the theory put forward by Jones is that Kohli is most vulnerable to fuller deliveries that deviate in towards the right-hander off the seam. In the eight Tests Kohli has played away from home this year, in South Africa and England, he has been dismissed significantly more often when bowlers have pitched the ball up. Cricviz figures show Kohli averages 46.28 against full deliveries compared to 66.33 against good length balls and 69.33 when facing short-pitched bowling.Virat Kohli strikes a pose during a photo session before the Test series against Australia•Getty Images

The caveat to the approach of bowling full – and it is a significant one – is that it leaves Australia’s bowlers open to the risk of leaking runs; Kohli is brutal in punishing balls that stray a fraction onto his pads.A theory is, of course, only as good as its execution and if Australia do adopt this tactic to the India captain it may be a question of the bowlers holding their collective nerve, particularly if he starts scoring freely. Speaking in Adelaide, Josh Hazlewood acknowledged there was a balancing act in containing Kohli while trying to remove him.”It’s a good point,” said Hazlewood. “He’s one of those guys who can score pretty freely, a number of the guys can in this Indian side, but sometimes those risks bring the most rewards as well. It’s just about weighing that up and assessing how long we stay at each plan for. Wemight stay at it for 20 balls or 80 balls, depending on how we feel, and it’s about adapting once we’re on the field.”Kohli’s wicket also falls more often to deliveries that deviate more due to seam rather than swing. This factor could play to the strengths of Australia’s fast bowlers using the Kookaburra ball more than it did to England’s bowlers, who tend to exploit the more swing-friendly elements of the Dukes ball.Kohli has often countered the threat of the moving ball by batting outside his crease, even against those as quick as Mitchell Starc. In the 2014-15 series, when he made 692 runs in eight innings, including four centuries, ESPNcricinfo data logged him facing 142 deliveries that were of a full length. He was dismissed only twice.Bounce is a key factor in Australia as well, although former Australia players Ian Chappell and Jason Gillespie have warned the current set not to overdo the short-ball tactic.So, if Australia’s seamers do find success using full-length in-nippers to arguably the world’s most dangerous Test batsmen, it could go some way to swinging (or seaming) the series in their favour.

Containing Virat Kohli in the first 15 deliveries and attacking Rohit straight up will be key to New Zealand gaining advantage over India, when the teams contest in a five-match ODI series in February next year, according to former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson.India’s top-order has shown superiority in the shorter formats, and they proved it again during the recently-concluded home series against West Indies. Kohli and Rohit in particular have been instrumental in setting up and chasing down big targets over the last few years, especially at home.However, Hesson felt both batsmen could be challenged in swinging conditions in New Zealand, although the host bowlers will have to work hard, especially against Kohli. “The key thing is if you can contain Virat Kohli in the first 10-15 balls where he has to take some risks to get his innings underway then that will provide opportunities,” Hesson told ESPNcricinfo. “How you do that is dependent on the surface. But, if we found a magic formula, I’m sure it would be circulated all around the world very quickly.”Hesson also warned that New Zealand would need to have plans for Rohit. “Rohit Sharma is in incredibly good form at the moment and has been for a long time. The thing with Rohit is that once he is in, once he gets himself set, he generally dictates the outcome of the game. It’s making sure that the new-ball bowlers can attack Rohit early on whether it’ll be with swing or with some other variations wide outside the crease or whatever.”New Zealand had blanked out India 4-0 at home in 2014 in an ODI series, which also featured a tie in Auckland. Hesson, the then coach, predicted a 3-2 series score in favour of the home team for the upcoming series. “I think it was 4-0 last time with a tie. I think it’ll be 3-2 [this time]… it’s going to be tight… I think Black Caps 3-2.”New Zealand are currently the third-ranked ODI side, one behind India, but Hesson pointed out that Kane Williamson’s men would need to quickly sort out a couple of key issues for them to arrive at next year’s World Cup as favourites.”I think there are a couple pieces of the puzzle the Black Caps would be keen to find out before the World Cup. Who is the allrounder? Who provides that balance? A lot of options there. From a bowling point of view, who’s going to take wickets in the middle overs when it’s flat? I think if they can get that sorted then the side’s looking very good.”

Fazle Mahmud’s evolved batting was the main reason behind his selection in Bangladesh’s ODI squad for the three-match series against Zimbabwe, according to selector Habibul Bashar. Bashar said that Mahmud has become a far more stable batsman in the last three years, having begun as a big-hitter many years ago.Mahmud struck two fifties in three innings for Bangladesh A in Ireland in August, catching the attention of Bashar, who was the selector on tour. He also made 708 runs at an average of 47.20 in this year’s Dhaka Premier League List-A tournament, to top off a good run in the last three years in domestic cricket. Bashar said that Mahmud offers the “complete package” with his left-arm spin, fitness and fielding, apart from his batting.”He’s had an interesting career,” Bashar said. “[Fazle Mahmud] Rabbi was in the high-performance squad about five or six years ago as a promising player. But then he lost his form. He has been in the runs again in the last three years, and there is a noticeable change in his overall game. He batted well in the A team tours. He is slightly on the older side, which we see less of when players get their first call-up. But he is a fit cricketer. We needed a batsman and although he is not like Shakib, he bowls a bit.”He started as a flamboyant, aggressive batsman in his early days, but I have noticed in the Ireland tour that he can bat according to the team’s needs. He rotates the strike, but he still has the big shots. He is now a complete batsman, which had a big influence in his selection. He is also a good fielder and bowls spin, a complete package.”Mohammad Saifuddin, the other new inclusion in the ODI side was a slightly more experimental pick, according to Bashar, as the Bangladesh thinktank wanted a bowling allrounder lower down the order. Despite the presence of Ariful Haque in the current side, Saifuddin is more likely to get the spot because of his bowling ability.”We have been looking for a bowling allrounder at No. 7 in the Zimbabwe ODI series,” Bashar said. “[Soumya Sarkar and Ariful] are batting allrounders. We expect batting first from them, and then bowling. We picked Saifuddin because he is a bowler who can contribute with the bat.”Over the years Ariful focused on batting although he came on to the scene as a bowling allrounder. Currently, we can’t expect him to bowl 10 overs. He has played as a batting allrounder, but we want someone who can bowl 10 overs and bat well too.”Bashar also said that Mominul Haque, one of three batsmen to be dropped after the Asia Cup, should not let thoughts of a permanent ODI place affect his Test batting. Mominul and Soumya made 14 and 33 runs in two matches respectively, while Mosaddek Hossain could muster only 39 runs in three outings. Mosaddek had replaced Sabbir Rahman at No. 7 while Soumya – and Imrul Kayes – were included midway through the Asia Cup by BCB president Nazmul Hassan after openers Liton Das and Nazmul Hossain Shanto failed on three occasions.Mominul, who earlier this year became the first Bangladeshi batsman to score hundreds in both innings of a Test match, earned his place in the Asia Cup squad through his 182 in a List-A game against Ireland A in August. Bashar feels Mominul is shifting his mindset towards the shorter format.”It would have been great had Mominul been in the runs,” Bashar said. “I have noticed that his batting has changed quite a lot recently. I am not sure whether his ODI-minded batting will affect him in Tests. If it happens, it certainly wouldn’t be desirable. We haven’t seen him do well in Tests in recent months, although he is one of our most important Test players. We need him in that format more than we need him in ODIs.”Bashar stated said that Mominul was still “unlucky” to miss out on the ODI squad where the focus was also on seeing how some of the fringe players fared at the highest level. “I feel bad for Mominul who was unlucky to miss out on selection,” Bashar said. “His ODI career is far from over. We basically had to see some other cricketers, and this is our best opportunity ahead of series against West Indies and New Zealand and the World Cup.”He had two knocks in the Asia Cup, which I feel isn’t enough for a batsman. It would have been beneficial for him had he made runs but since he couldn’t and we needed to see some new players, we had to drop him.”Bashar, however, was far less sympathetic towards Mosaddek. “We are not happy with Mosaddek’s form. He hasn’t been able to bat functionally. We are giving him a break, and we hope he returns among runs in domestic cricket.”