Is it time to re-imagine the Bangladesh cricket team?

Shamim Hossain's batting impressed everyone that saw his 15-ball 31 that helped Bangladesh win the T20I series 2-1 against Zimbabwe.

The under-19 World Cup winner's innings had fearlessness and intelligence - a combination that was desperately lacking in the Bangladesh T20I team before his inclusion. 

The energy he showed in the field and in his running between the wickets was also two elements lacking from a team that needed some youthful exuberance. 

Another player, Afif Hossain played a very useful knock of 14 off just five deliveries that took some pressure off Mahmudullah, who was struggling with his timing at the other end. 

Afif's batting and fielding also have that energy and intent that teams need in T20I need.

If we look back at the first innings, it was another under-19 World Cup winner, Shoriful Islam, who was good with the ball. 

Shoriful made good use of the pitch and changed his lines and lengths up accordingly; he played intelligent cricket.

Shoriful conceded 27 off his four overs and while his senior counterparts Taskin Ahmed and Mohammad Saifuddin gave 78 runs in their six overs combined and showed a lack of intelligence in their bowling. 

While Soumya Sarkar did very well with both bat and ball and deservedly got the Man of the Match and Man of the Series awards, it was the younger, more fearless faces that played a key role in the series win. 

A plan has to be in place

Bangladesh cricket is currently going through a bit of a transition as the fab five is no longer there with Mashrafe Mortaza out of the national team contention. 

Mahmudullah recently retired from Test cricket after scoring his highest Test score, a decision fuelled by anger over why he was dropped from the Test plans earlier. 

There have been rumours that Tamim Iqbal also wanted to quit ODI captaincy in the Zimbabwe series. 

He's out for two months with a knee injury but apparently, one Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) board member believed that he didn't have any injury and was faking it as he fielded well and scored runs in the three-match ODI series. 

Mushfiqur Rahim had to tend to his Covid-19 positive family members and had to leave the team after the Test. 

Shakib Al Hasan has been trying to manage his workload in Tests since 2017 and has also had his fair share of controversies throughout his career. 

While these five senior players have given Bangladesh cricket over a decade and a half of service and its most glorious years, they will not be able to play forever. 

The BCB has a bunch of under-19 World Cup winners in the pipeline, some of which have already shown promising signs in international cricket. 

There are more players in the pipeline like Parvez Hossain Emon, who impressed with a hundred in the Bangabandhu T20 Cup earlier this year, and he is another player that can slot into the T20I team. 

Towhid Hridoy is another player that should make it in the national team's Test, ODI and T20I squads - he has a List A average of 52.3.

Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Tanzid Hasan Tamim are two more batters that will make it to the national team if they do well domestically. 

They both had good u-19 World Cups with the bat and have started their domestic careers well. 

Off-spinner Rakibul Hasan and fast bowlers Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Mrittunjoy Chowdhury are bowlers with great potential.

There are no readymade replacements for a Shakib Al Hasan but Rakibul has shown signs that he can lead the spin attack.

With the T20I World Cup looming large, a few more youngsters like Shamim can be tested in the T20I side. 

The fearlessness with which they play is something that the team has been missing and desperately needs more of. 

The 2023 World Cup is being seen as potentially the last one for the remaining four of the fab five, and trying new players in the side after that tournament should be among the plans. 

The Test team is perhaps the weakest of the lot and putting unproven youngsters here won't be the brightest idea. 

There are players like Shahadat Hossain, who has shown that he has the batting temperament required to do well in the longest format, but he needs a few good seasons of domestic cricket before being put to face the fire of Test cricket. 

Overall, it seems like a plan is in place by the BCB to integrate more of the under-19 World Cup winners into the national setup, without rushing them, as has been the case with most under-19 talents in the past. 

And secondly, the board needs to ensure enough domestic and List A cricket for the youngsters so that once the likes of Shakib and Tamim are gone, Bangladesh cricket can still keep moving forward. 

The future is not as bleak as some make it out to be.