The Shafiul gamble

When the selectors initially announced a squad for the first Test against Australia, there was hardly any ambiguity about who was going to make it to the final eleven from the 14-member list. Later, the amendment to the side through the intervention of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan brought back Mominul Haque after a lot of drama has caused some debate over the number three position, apart from discussions about Nasir Hossain's chances of playing in place of Mosaddek Hossain. 

Other than those two, the remaining positions are probably fixed, including the pace attack. With the controversy surrounding Mominul's initial exclusion, pacer Shafiul Islam's inclusion ahead of Rubel Hossain, Subhasish Roy and Kamrul Islam Rabbi has hardly been noticed. It can however be understood that since the 27-year-old has been included in the squad, he will not continue to warm the bench and instead partner Mustafizur Rahman at the expense of Taskin Ahmed, the other pacer in the squad.

That seems a fair supposition because there is no point to include him only to carry him when he last played a Test against England during which he bowled 12 wicket-less overs across two innings. The right-arm paceman was included in the squad for the one-off Test against India in February this year, but only visited with the team, like he did during Bangladesh's trip to Ireland and the ICC Champions Trophy in England.

As the selectors have placed their faith in a bowler, who has been able to play only nine Tests since his debut in 2010 while the team have played 39 over the same period, that too ahead of bowlers who have appeared more regularly, there can hardly be any doubt over his chances of playing.

Out of those nine, Shafiul played five Tests in January 2010. Then, since playing against Zimbabwe in Harare in August 2011, he made his return to Test cricket in 2014 against West Indies and played one more match against Zimbabwe in the same year before making a return against England.

Such a peculiar stop-start career -- his nine Tests yielded 15 wickets and 56 ODIs netted 63 wickets – is the result of a series of injuries.  But whenever he is fit, the team management has preferred to keep him in the side because they do not doubt his ability.

Shafiul also showcased his worth with his swing bowling during his injury-plagued career whenever he got the chance. His ability to bowl wicket-to-wicket at good pace and with a consistent length have been factors behind his selection and according to a source, his contribution can come in handy on wickets mostly likely to assist the spinners.

The team management however will only hope that he will not break down again. Bangladesh cricket has made huge progress in terms of fitness and injury management and in this regard Mashrafe Bin Mortaza's long-lasting second life is the biggest example. There is no apparent reason why the same cannot be true of Shafiul.