Sabbir Rahman seems to have the skill required to graduate to Test cricket, but the team management isn’t rushing him
Mohammad Isam08-Oct-2015The Bangladesh team for the two-Test series against Australia was named a day after Sabbir Rahman made an unbeaten 122 against India A. It is very likely that he will remain with the Bangladesh A side on their Africa tour that starts this month, instead of breaking into the senior team for the two Tests against Zimbabwe in November; there is no hurry to include him in the Test setup, which already includes a number of players who are not yet established in the longest format.Chief selector Faruque Ahmed believes that Sabbir is among a group of players who are being moulded for the longer format with an eye on the future. “We are trying him and others in the A team,” Faruque said. “If you look at that team you will see many of the players are still not established in the Test team. These A team matches are important for the players and from a selection perspective. We want them to do well in all formats.”The century for Bangladesh A is not the only thing that is bringing the focus on Sabbir, who is among a group of exciting batsman now playing in the senior side. His approach to batting could be the next path, or a change of gear, for a Bangladesh Test batting line-up that often struggles to score in a sustained manner. Sabbir has shown that he can be aggressive while at the same time melt into the vastness of a first-class innings. His improvement in the last seven years as a first-class batsman, a limited-overs player and an excellent fielder, has suggested that he has the qualities that could make him successful in Test cricket too.Sabbir’s knock in Bangalore stood out amid Bangladesh A’s first-innings batting shambles which included six ducks. It was described as “sublime” – he batted with ease against spin and pace, short-pitched and even fuller deliveries.There is already much appreciation for his ability and skills among the Bangladesh team management, one of whom said that he “would love” to see Sabbir make it to the Test team.In the 20 ODIs and eight T20s since his debut in November last year, Sabbir has been a handy bat in end-over accelerations and chases. His hand-eye coordination is a major strength and has only improved with time. While he has always maintained that he is happy to play any format he is chosen for, Sabbir wouldn’t like to be tagged as a limited-overs specialist; a format specialist in Bangladesh cricket suffers typecasting which ultimately has been seen to hurt the individual’s skills and credentials.Strong examples are Mominul Haque, Enamul Haque jnr and Robiul Islam, who have found it hard to make it to limited-overs sides as they are perceived to be only good enough to play Tests. Sabbir came into the scene as a short-burst batsmen but it is hard to ignore his work for Rajshahi Division in the National Cricket League since his first-class debut in 2008. As a lower-middle order batsman, he has a number of innings where he has batted for more than three hours.Mal Loye, the High Performance coach who worked with Sabbir for a few months this year, is confident that when the time arrives, he can manage the changes between the shorter and longer formats. “I think all players with natural ability can adjust to all formats of the game. I have spoken with Sabbir about potentially doing that, I don’t see a reason why he can’t adjust to that format,” Loye said.Loye has directed him to bat up the order for his first-class team Rajshahi Division so that his batting skills are developed for the longest format. He has also asked Sabbir to work on his back-foot game as the front-foot movement seems to come to Bangladesh batsmen naturally.”I have spoken to Sabbir about possibly going up the order when he is playing for his division in the first-class competition, give himself time to bat long periods. There’s no better way about than scoring hundreds. To bat all day is a difficult skill. I have no doubt he can do that.”I try to encourage every player here to be as comfortable off the back foot as they are off the front foot. Obviously conditions in Bangladesh favour the front foot. I have spoken to him about expanding his game on the back foot. It prepares you to play against better, faster and taller bowlers, and gives you more scoring options against medium-pacers as well.”Barring late injuries and if Rubel Hossain doesn’t recover in time from his calf muscle strain, the national selectors are likely to retain the Bangladesh team that played against South Africa in July-August and the one that was announced for the deferred Australia series. One may argue that going down the same, known alley is better than trying something different but then the selectors and fans would not want the Bangladesh Test team to stagnate while the ODI and T20 team find new ways to win games, and Sabbir will continue to be an option to ponder.
