Places up for grabs in the Test lineup

With Bangladesh having won the one-off Test against Zimbabwe, many players have solidified their spot in the Test team, but there are still a few places that are up for grabs.

Captain Mominul Haque, opener Tamim Iqbal, top-order batsman Najmul Hossain Shanto, veteran Mushfiqur Rahim and wicket-keeper Liton Das were all among the runs in the last Test against Zimbabwe and should be a shoo-in for the next Test.

Among the bowlers, a four-man attack should be expected, although an all-rounder could come in.

All four bowlers – Nayeem Hasan, Taijul Islam, Abu Jayed and Ebadat Hossain – have put on a decent performance against Zimbabwe and should be included in the team.

That brings us to opener Saif Hassan and middle-order batsman Mohammad Mithun, who had a poor outing with the bat against Zimbabwe.

Saif and Mithun under the scanner

Saif Hassan, the 21-year-old right-hander, has played three innings in his short Test career and scored just 24 runs.

With an average of 42.17 in first-class cricket from 41 games and a best of 220* (which he achieved late last year), it's easy to see that the batsman has potential.

The youngster was also a star performer in the under-19 setup and he should get another chance in against Pakistan.

Shanto had a stop-start career before finally getting among the runs in recent times and he credits that to the coach and management having a long-term vision with him and assuring him of his spot.

Board President Nazmul Hassan has also recently emphasised that players should not be brought in and dropped without getting a long enough run with the national team.

Saif himself has said that he would like to play a long innings and his goal in practice during the nets has been to stay not out at all costs.

So all signs point to him getting another chance in the second Test against Pakistan in April.

Mohammad Mithun, on the other hand, played an innings of 63 against Pakistan in the first Test, but that might not be enough for him to keep his spot.

The 28-year-old right-hander has played nine Tests so far and only has an average of 19.25 with a Test best of 67.

His first-class average of 34.09 also isn't the most impressive, but he has shown the grit and tenacity to play useful knocks when the team has been in dire straits.

But if Mushfiqur Rahim plays, and the team wants to play an all-rounder, then Mithun might be dropped and Mehidy Hasan Miraz could come in.

Does Mushfiq finally tour Pakistan?

Speaking of Mushfiq, there is still a big question mark of the right-hander's availability for the second Test against Pakistan.

Mushfiq had previous sent a written letter to the board about not participating in the Pakistan tour as his family didn't deem it safe.

However, recent developments have taken another turn as the board president has told the media that he expects Mushfiq to play in the third Test as he is "contractually obligated to play".

National team batsman Shahriar Nafees believed that it was "more likely" for Mushfiq to play in the Rawalpindi Test.

"It is Mushfiq's personal matter if he goes to Pakistan or not. I cannot say what he will or won't do. But if the board feels that he is needed then he has to go," Nafees told The Business Standard.

The left-hander further added that "given the current form Mushfiq was in and Bangladesh's performances in Tests, he would most probably be travelling to Pakistan for the third leg of the tour".

And that's the most important point here.

Getting a positive result against Pakistan in Pakistan would require the Tigers to perform even better than they did against Zimbabwe at home and for that to happen, the team combination and the availability of Mushfiq would be key.