Bangladesh’s captain and wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim will not be seen keeping wickets in Tests anymore as he has been asked to leave wicketkeeping in order to focus on his batting and captaincy. Rahim recently captained the Bangladeshi side during the one-off Test at Hyderabad which they lost on Day 5 after tourists’ fighting performance.
Rahim played a fighting knock in the first innings saving his team from follow on. He became the first Bangladesh batsman to score a century on Indian soil and that too, in a historic Test encounter. He was not able to repeat his heroics in the second innings, though.
On the other hand, Rahim’s wicketkeeping was highly criticised for missing an easy stumping chance. Because of the missed stumping opportunity, India’s wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha went on to score a century, helping the hosts pile on runs in the first innings and post a gigantic total.
You can watch the missed stumping chance here:
Khaled Mahmud told a Bengal daily that, “The coach (Chandika Hathurusingha) and I have informed Mushfiqur officially (that he will play only as a batsman). He is the best batsman in the team. He is in such form that we believe he will be able to give more to the team, which is why he will bat at No. 4 and will not be keeping wickets. Mushfiqur has taken the decision positively, which is the best part.
“We gave him examples of Kumar Sangakkara and Brendan Taylor whose batting improved as soon as they gave up wicketkeeping in Tests. It is hard to play as wicketkeeper, captain and batsman,” he added.
