Days three, four, and five will justify Sylhet spin strategy: Taskin

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Bangladesh’s ace pacer Taskin Ahmed defended the team’s decision to field three spinners in the Sylhet Test against the West Indies, stating the spin will inevitably come into play as the pitch deteriorates.

Speaking at the press conference at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Thursday following the opening day’s play, Taskin addressed the team’s tactical setup. Bangladesh opted for a three-pronged spin attack of Taijul Islam, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, and Nayeem Hasan, alongside just two pacers — Taskin and Hasan Mahmud.

The strategy appeared to backfire on day one, with the spinners going wicketless while Taskin and Hasan claimed the only breakthroughs as the visitors finished Day 1 on 235-4.

Taskin admitted he felt the team was a pacer short, but backed the management’s vision for the latter half of the game.

“While the pitch might behave one way now, days three, four, and five will be the most crucial days for determining the match’s result, which likely factored into the spin strategy,” Taskin explained.

The conversation also shifted to the recent resting of Bangladesh’s fast bowlers. Despite match-winning spells, the quicks are being heavily rotated. Shoriful Islam had to sit out the one-off Test against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi immediately after claiming a seven-wicket haul against Australia. Taskin himself was rested for the preceding Mirpur Test against the Windies, while Shoriful and Ebadot Hossain are currently sitting out the Sylhet fixture.

Taskin emphasised that managing workloads is essential to prevent long-term setbacks, pointing to the unfortunate injury struggles of Nahid Rana. The express pacer has missed the Australia series, the Afghanistan Test, and the current Windies series due to recurring injuries, and remains a doubt for the upcoming South Africa Tests.
“If someone suffers a serious injury, it’s hard to get the rhythm back quickly. In the recent past, Nahid Rana has been missed as he faced injuries one after another. I am sure he will return quickly, but for workload management, everyone at times needs to be rotated,” Taskin said.