BBB: Best Bangladeshi Batsman

[Aritro]

Benefits in hindsight from being in a terrible team

If the same Habibul was transported 20 years into the future he'd struggle to make the team

Nah he was a decent bat for a good while and he seemed to score a 50 every other game (and almost never converted one into a hundred, probably due to terrible fitness and chain smoking if I know that era of Bangladeshi cricket). At the end of the Pakistan series in 2003, he had 1741 runs at an average of 37 with two centuries and 15 half centuries.

He did however have a pretty dodgy technique with his big shuffle across the stumps and relied too much on his natural hand-eye coordination. As he got further in his 30s, his averaging came down from 37 to 30.

 

[TheJediBrah]

I'm not saying he was a bad player, just not as good as most of the current team. He just stood out back then.

 

[Burgey]

Sometimes it's a pretty significant burden to carry if you're the only genuine class player in your side. You might argue if he had better platforms set, he might have averaged a few points more which would have had him right among the discussion with the more recent blokes.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Gee it's a real crack field, isn't it?

Well in terms of batting among keepers Gilly would be the only Aussie better than Mushy and Das, and Australia hasn't had an allrounder as good as Shakib since Keith Miller retired.

 

[Aritro]

Well in terms of batting among keepers Gilly would be the only Aussie better than Mushy and Das, and Australia hasn't had an allrounder as good as Shakib since Keith Miller retired.

While we're on the topic, Liton has been unreal since the start of 2021. Basically outperforming every other keeper in the world by a margin.



Stacks up pretty well against all batsmen overall as well. And unlike Karunaratne, he hasn't had the luxury of playing against Bangladesh lel.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Well in terms of batting among keepers Gilly would be the only Aussie better than Mushy and Das, and Australia hasn't had an allrounder as good as Shakib since Keith Miller retired.

This is a much better comeback

 

[Athlai]

Well in terms of batting among keepers Gilly would be the only Aussie better than Mushy and Das, and Australia hasn't had an allrounder as good as Shakib since Keith Miller retired.

Fair call this. Tamim probably would've been a gun opening the Aussies batting

 

[Migara]

Habibul Bashar. The original competent Bangladeshi test match Batsman. He was a pioneer

Only Bangladeshi batsman who played Vaas and Murali with confidence. Even Tamim and Mushfiq struggled against those two.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Only Bangladeshi. Atsmwn who played Vaas and Murali with confidence. Even Tamim and Mushfiq struggled against those two.

Probably helped that Habibul was 30 and those other 2 were teenagers, but sure, you do you

 

[Migara]

Habib ul Basher may have lost his best years to his pre test career.

He was one of thise rare Bangladesh batsmen (probably the only one) who hooked and pulled short stuff like a boss. Since he was not has the disciplined (once again due to lack of test quality oppositiin) hia shot selection was not the best.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

I thought that Athar Ali Khan was their most technical batsman before the test era

 

[Coronis]

While we're on the topic, Liton has been unreal since the start of 2021. Basically outperforming every other keeper in the world by a margin.

View attachment 31831

Stacks up pretty well against all batsmen overall as well. And unlike Karunaratne, he hasn't had the luxury of playing against Bangladesh lel.

View attachment 31832

However he does get to play the majority of his tests against the other weakest current bowling lineups. Had impressive innings no doubt though against Pakistan and NZ. Also really he’s on the poll after this what, year and a half of good performances? Is it a meme attempt or just filling out the numbers?

Anyway onto the thread’s question, I’d say Tamim, because of the success he had overseas, and he still has their highest average despite opening. I really thought Mominul Haque would surpass them all when he debuted but he needs to actually score a bit outside of Bangladesh to have any shot. My heart still says Shakib tho. I always loved him and I’d really love a country to have the same bloke as their greatest bowler and batsman.

 

[Aritro]

On the subject of very premature debuts affecting their records, Mushfiq's probably been affected by this the most.

Between his debut as a 16 year old at Lords in 2005 and his 21st birthday he played 8 test matches making scores of 19, 3, 2, 9, 9, 80, 11*, 1, 7, 6, 8, 0, 7, 2, 15 and 4. That's 174 runs at an average of 11.6. During that time he faced the full English battery of Flintoff, Jones, Harmison and Hoggard, followed by a series against Vettori's Kiwis, then two tests against Murali and Vaas's Sri Lankans, and then finally two tests against Steyn, Ntini and Morkel's South Africans. And to be fair, he's rarely faced that sort of quality in the years since.



He started finding his feet after his 21st birthday in 2008, and since then he's made 5038 runs in nearly 15 years of test cricket at an average of 41.29 while also keeping for two thirds of those matches.



Since he handed over the gloves to Liton Das in 2015, he's made 1673 runs in 25 matches at an average of 44.02.



*numbers defo boosted by his 170* in the ongoing test at Dhaka

 

[Athlai]

Bashar would've benefited by being in a better team. Maybe average in the mid 30s. Still wouldn't be in the top 3 Bangers bat's though

 

[Aritro]

FWIW, Tamim actually hit his straps a bit earlier than Mushfiq, having the best year of his career in his 20th year. It's probably worth noting that I've been told he's actually a year older than his official age, but I'll stick with the official information. He struggled as a teenager with matches against Vettori's Kiwis, South Africa with Steyn, Ntini and Morkel and Sri Lanka with Murali and Vaas all before his 20th birthday.



Since he turned 20, he's posted pretty decent numbers for a test opener. However, given the potential he showed as a 20 year old in 2010 when he amassed 837 runs at 59.78 including two centuries in England he's pretty massively underachieved. At the time we thought we'd unearthed a generational talent, but he's proven to be steady rather than exceptional. These are his numbers since he turned 20:

 

[TheJediBrah]

However he does get to play the majority of his tests against the other weakest current bowling lineups. Had impressive innings no doubt though against Pakistan and NZ. Also really he’s on the poll after this what, year and a half of good performances? Is it a meme attempt or just filling out the numbers?

Anyway onto the thread’s question, I’d say Tamim, because of the success he had overseas, and he still has their highest average despite opening. I really thought Mominul Haque would surpass them all when he debuted but he needs to actually score a bit outside of Bangladesh to have any shot. My heart still says Shakib tho. I always loved him and I’d really love a country to have the same bloke as their greatest bowler and batsman.

Is Shakib their best ever bowler though?

 

[Aritro]

I haven't bothered to dice up Shakib's numbers because he didn't debut in tests until he was 20 and as I illustrated in the OP of the long-running "Shakib vs the great all rounders" thread, he was pretty much keeping pace with the best all rounders in history at the time of his 15th match.

Here are the career summaries for Mushfiq, Tamim and Shakib since they turned 20. I think realistically all three of them would have had to wait until they were in the 22-25 age range if they were from other countries - particularly Mushfiq, who was nowhere near ready during his first 8 tests. But nevertheless, I went with 20 as the cut-off, which seemed reasonable given Tamim and Shakib were performing at test standard from that point onwards.

Shakib Al Hasan



Tamim Iqbal



Mushfiqur Rahim



I think Tamim probably emerges as the clear winner there, given the evenness of his record against all opposition - with the added difficulty factor of opening the batting. Shakib looks like he's second based on averages against decent opposition, with Mushfiq emerging with the least flattering record given his poor averages against England, South Africa and Pakistan. He's also the one who cashed in most against Zimbabwe, with his 219* last year boosting his average against them massively.

Realistically though, I'd have Mushfiq second over Shakib given his superior technique, vastly superior temperament and the quality of his record since he gave up the gloves. He also has a much better looking breakdown if I start the filter from when he turned 21, thereby removing the string of single digit scores he got against various opposition as a young keeper-batsmen facing test bowlers before he was ready. In particular, his average against New Zealand improves from 34 to 46.

 

[Coronis]

Is Shakib their best ever bowler though?

I mean, he averages 30 away and 31 at home. Averages the lowest and has the most wickets for Bangladesh. The only other bowlers averaging less than 35 for Bangladesh both average 45+ away. Seems pretty cut and dry for me.

 

[vicleggie]

What about BBC: Best Bangladeshi catcher?

 

[Migara]

Bashar would've benefited by being in a better team. Maybe average in the mid 30s. Still wouldn't be in the top 3 Bangers bat's though

He would have been their wild card. When he fires, would have won matches single handedly.