Left-handed top-order batsman Najmul Hossain Shanto might be placed at number three in the batting order in the ODIs against the West Indies which will start on January 20.

Russell Domingo, the head coach of the Tigers, said this on Monday.

Najmul already played five ODIs and batted at number three in two matches but failed to impress as he posted 29 and six. But Domingo believes the batsman has all the ability to shine at number three.

Najmul scored only 69 runs in five games in the last 50-over competition in the domestic arena – BCB President’s Cup. But the southpaw was at his best at the Bangabandhu T20 Cup 2020 where he posted 301 in eight matches with two 50s and one 100.

The left-handed top-order batsman’s new placement will mean that Shakib Al Hasan, who has been the most successful number three of Bangladesh in recent times, will be moved to number four.

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“Shanto has been in really good form. It is great to have Shakib back. He had an unbelievable World Cup at number three,” Domingo said.

“I am thinking of having the experienced players – Shakib, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad – at number four, five and six. This will offer us more depth in the middle-order.”

“The players already know what their roles are. However, we have not announced the final XI to them. They will be informed about their particular position today before the media gets to know about who will bat at what position,” Domingo said.

Shakib was Bangladesh’s number three during the last ICC ODI World Cup in England where the southpaw scored 606 runs with five 50s and two 100s.

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He batted at number three in 23 games and scored 1,177 runs at an average of 58.85 with two 100s.

“Najmul is in really good touch now. He played in the last series against Zimbabwe and we need to develop some young batters. In the sub-continent, the top three is the best place to develop young batsmen,” Domingo said.

“Shakib has not played international cricket in a while. So, batting at number four will give him breathing space,” the Tigers’ head coach said.

“However, this batting line-up is not set in stone. We have a long way to go before the World Cup. We need to look at different options before settling on a batting line-up.”

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As per the current plan revealed by Bangladesh’s head coach, captain Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das will open the innings for the Tigers.

And Shanto, Shakib, Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah will follow, while Soumya Sarkar will bat at number seven.

The ODI series will begin on January 20 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. The venue will host the second ODI on January 22. And the third match will be played in Chattogram on January 25.

Mohammed Siraj snared five wickets as Australia was dismissed for 294 late on day four, setting India a target of 328 to win the series-deciding cricket Test at the Gabba.

The highest successful run chase at the Brisbane venue was in 1951, when Australia finished 236-7 against the West Indies. The Australians haven’t lost at the Gabba since 1988, but nobody is counting India out.

Also read: Defiant India forces a draw in tense 3rd Test vs Australia

The openers faced 1.5 overs before rain stopped play for a second time Monday and India was four without loss — one scoring stroke from Rohit Sharma. Stumps was called shortly after 5 p.m. local time, leaving India one day to try to get 324 more runs.

Siraj put down two catches before picking up the key wicket of Steve Smith for 55 in the middle session as India’s injury-depleted bowling attack kept taking the game to Australia.

Also read: India 96-2 after day 2 of 3rd Test

Australia was 243-7 at tea on day four — a rain shower forcing an early break — with an overall lead of 276 and a declaration seemingly imminent.

But the hosts continued batting when play resumed in gloomy conditions in the evening session, adding a further 51 runs for three wickets.

Pat Cummins finished unbeaten on 28. Nathan Lyon, in his 100th Test, took Australia’s lead past 300 when he hooked a six off Siraj but was out soon after for 13, giving Thakur his fourth wicket of the innings and seventh of the match.

Thakur took the catch off Siraj’s bowling to dismiss last man Josh Hazlewood (9). Siraj, leading the India attack in just his third Test in the injury-enforced absence of Jasprit Bumrah and spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, returned 5-73 for his career-best figures.

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Smith said the match was well-poised, and typical of a series that as “ebbed and flowed” throughout. Australia won the first Test by eight wickets in Adelaide, India responded with an eight-wicket win in Melbourne and then get the emotional better for a draw in the third Test in Sydney, where the tourists batted through the last four sessions to salvage a draw.

“The game is in a nice place for us,” Smith said. “The wicket started to play a few tricks today, a couple of balls shot up, so tomorrow is going to be (about) letting the natural variation of a day five wicket do its work, and hopefully we can hold onto our chances.”

Smith said there was a lot more happening with the wicket at the Gabba and it was different to the Sydney Cricket Ground, where India batted for 130 overs to save the match.

“For us (the key) is being patient, not searching too much. Letting it happen,” Smith said. “The guys are excited about tomorrow.”

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He tipped Lyon, three shy of 400 Test wickets, to play a big role with some cracks on a day-five pitch to aim at. He also expected allrounder Cameron Green to use his height and the unpredictable bounce to get his first wicket in Test cricket.

Australia started play 21 without loss on Monday and cruised to 89-0 on the fourth morning before losing four wickets in six overs to slip to 123-4.

Smith then combined with Cameron Green to lift the total to 196 before a sharply-rising ball from Siraj hit him on the glove and deflected away to Ajinkya Rahane in the gully.

Smith, who got a reprieve on 42 when he advanced to off-spinner Washington Sundar and Siraj put down a chance in the deep, reviewed the decision, thinking his hand wasn’t on the bat at the time. But replays clearly confirmed the dismissal.

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Green (37) had a reprieve when Siraj put down a sharp return catch, but his 90-ball innings ended when he edged Thakur to Rohit Sharma at second slip to make Australia 227-6. Australia captain Tim Paine scored a quick 27 before he was caught behind attempting a hook off Thakur just before the tea interval.

Thakur had earlier picked up the first wicket of the innings when Marcus Harris (38) gloved a catch to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant in the 25th over.

David Warner compiled 48 from 75 deliveries before he was out in the following over, trapped lbw by Sundar to make it 91-2.

Siraj chimed in with two wickets in an over to remove Marnus Labuschagne, who scored 25 from 22 balls, and Matthew Wade (0) in the same over.

While the series is level at 1-1, India needs only a draw to ensure it retains the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

With an eye on the World Cup 2023, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) started their plan to prepare a best possible team for the Tigers. In the first step towards that, the selection panel of BCB announced an 18-member squad for the ODI series against West Indies starting from January 20. They included three new faces for this series, and all of them are very excited to get this chance.

Two of three new faces are pace-bowlers— Hasan Mahmud and Shoriful Islam— while the other one— Mahedi Hasan— is a good batsman who also has the ability to turn the game at any moment with the right-arm off-break bowling.

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Mahedi already played four T20Is for the Tigers but he is yet to prove his mettle at the highest level of the game. The 26-year-old allrounder said he is prepared enough to give a try in the most popular format of the game— ODIs. 

“I have been working very hard to play for Bangladesh. I am glad that I have already played a few T20Is, now I got the chance for ODIs. I don’t have any pressure. It’s rather an inspiration for me to keep doing well,” Mahedi said in his first reaction after getting selected for the national ODI set-up. 

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“If I get a chance in the best XI, I will give my all to do well. Since I can do both bowling and batting, I will try to capitalize whatever the opportunity arise along the way,” he added. The Khulna-born allrounder believes the touring West Indies have all the ability to pose a great challenge for the hosts. 

Mahedi played 70 List-A matches and grabbed 65 wickets with one four-wicket haul and amassed 987 runs with one century and four half-centuries at an average of 19.35. He also played 41 First-class matches and took 84 wickets along with scoring 2367 runs with four centuries and 12 fifties. 

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Hasan Mahmud, the 21-year-old right-arm pacer, also made it to the Bangladesh national team after proving a good potential during his age-level cricket and in the domestic circuit. 

“I have been cherishing a dream to play for my country from day one of playing cricket. Now I have got the chance. If I got selected in the best XI, I will give my best shot,” Hasan told the media. 

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Hasan idealizes many local and foreign cricketers, but he said his main source of belief is the current bunch of senior player of Bangladesh team. “I am just looking forward to doing well against West Indies if I get a chance. It’s my first ODI series so I am eager to make it memorable. I know the path is tough to stay longer in the national team. I have to keep my process of playing well up,” Hasan, who born and grown up in Laximpur, further told the media. 

In 16 List-A games, Hasan bagged 20 wickets with the best figures of taking three wickets conceding 24 runs. He also played 14 First-class matches and scalped 37 wickets two four-wicket hauls. 

Also read:BCB President's Cup: Najmul XI fail to post challenging total

Border district Panchagarh-born Shoriful Islam, the tall left-arm pacer, is the newest inclusion in the national set-up. After being called up in the preliminary squad for the first time, he also made to the main squad. His emergence surprised many, but Shoriful has already proved that he has the ability to serve the national team for a longer period of time. He was one of Bangladesh’s main weapon during the ICC U-19 World Cup 2020, which Bangladesh clinched beating India in the final. Shoriful played a pivotal role in the final. 

“It’s like dream comes true for me. I always dreamt of share the same dressing room with Mushfiq bhai, Shakib bhai, Riyad bhai, Tamim bhai and Mustafiz bhai. I will try to do well so that I can continue to stay with them. It was a moment of immense pleasure to have selected for the national team. I will definitely try my best if I get a chance in the playing XI,” Shoriful told the media. 

“I played some excellent cricket in the BCB President’s Cup and Bangabandhu T20 Cup. If I get a chance in the playing XI, I will try my best to replicate that performance,” he added. 

Shoriful played 27 List-A matches till the date and bagged 47 wickets with two four-wicket hauls. He also played eight First-class games and took up 22 wickets with one four-for. 

On the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh’s independence, the national cricket team will wear a special jersey designed based on the idea of the national flag, the war of independence and the national memorial, Akram Khan, the chairman of cricket operations of BCB, has said.

Tigers will wear the jersey against West Indies in the ODI series starting from January 20.

“Along with the whole nation, we, the cricket board and the players, are going to join the celebration. We kept the occasion of 50-year of Bangladesh in mind while designing the new jersey. The jersey is designed inspired by our national flag — we kept the red sun of our flag in the jersey,” Akram told the media.

“At the same time, we have added the idea of celebrating independence by our freedom fighters, and we also added the national memorial. We hope you all will like the new jersey,” he added.

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The series against West Indies will be marked as Bangladesh’s first series after the Covid-19 outbreak. West Indies played two series before coming to Bangladesh.

Bangladesh have already announced an 18-member squad for WI ODIs including three newbies— Mahedi Hasan, Hasan Mahmud and Shoriful Islam.

It’ll be Tamim Iqbal’s first ODI series as a full-time captain. He had earlier led the team in the Sri Lanka tour after the World Cup 2019. That was not a memorable assignment for Tamim as Bangladesh lost all three games against the Lankan Lions.

After the ODI series, the Tigers will lock horns with the touring Caribbeans in a two-match Test series starting from February 3 in Chattogram. The second Test will be played in Dhaka from February 11.

Test rookies Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar combined for a rearguard century stand that frustrated Australia’s bowling attack and lifted India from a precarious position Sunday into almost first-innings parity in the series-deciding match.

The partnership formed with India in serious trouble at 186-6 in reply to Australia’s 369, and with no more recognized batters in the pavilion, and added 123 runs — an Indian record for the seventh wicket at the Gabba.

Thakur, in his second Test, got off the mark with a six and raised his maiden Test half century with another six off Nathan Lyon and topped India’s scoring with a 115-ball 67. Sundar posted 62 from 144 deliveries in his debut Test innings. In between the boundaries, the lower middle-order batters dodged, ducked and were hit by short balls peppered at them by the Australian fast bowlers.

Also Read: India 96-2 after day 2 of 3rd Test

The pair had been elevated to the starting lineup for the fourth Test and took three wickets each over the first two days after a string of injuries to India’s bowling stocks culminated in pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and leading spinner Ravichandran Ashwin being ruled out of the match in Brisbane.

When Australian paceman Josh Hazlewood (5-57) completed a five-wicket haul by clean bowling a wildly-swinging Mohammed Siraj for 13, India was all out for 336 late on day three — just a 33-run first-innings deficit.

Australia reached stumps at 21 without loss, an overall lead of 54. David Warner was unbeaten on 20.

The series is level at 1-1 with two days remaining and it appears that India is on track to at least force a draw that would ensure it retains the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

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Thakur acknowledged the situation was difficult when he went into bat, facing up to the crowd, the Australian pace bowlers, a batting partner he'd rarely played with and India in a tough position. But he said he was confident he and Sundar had the temperament for Test cricket and were capable of digging in. And he recalled some advice India coach Ravi Shastri.

“I remember Ravi Shastri telling me ‘if you perform in this country you will be rewarded and people are going to love you for your performances’,” Thakur said. “Keeping those things in my mind, I just kept playing. I was just hoping for a turnaround, and it happened."

Hazlewood praised Thakur and Sundar for the way they took on the game and admitted the Australians “just let a few moments slip.”

Also Read: Defiant India forces a draw in tense 3rd Test vs Australia

“Credit to those two guys, batted beautifully," he said, but Australia “probably let pressure off at certain times across the day. There were a few half-chances there we could have grabbed, may have made a difference."

Hazlewood was the pick of the Australian bowlers and was rewarded for his tight line with a ninth five-wicket haul in a Test innings.

India resumed Sunday at 66-2 ready for an extended day after rain washed out play late on day two, and added 99 runs for the loss of Cheteshwar Pujara and captain Ajinkya Rahane in the morning session.

Hazlewood made the first breakthrough of the day by removing Pujara for 25 off 94 balls, teasing the 90-Test veteran forward to a good length ball which found the edge and carried through to wicketkeeper Tim Paine.

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Rahane mixed some elegant strokes with some expansive shots outside off stump and his luck finally ran out on 37 when he edged a Mitchell Starc delivery to Matt Wade at third slip.

Hazlewood struck early in the middle session, too. He dismissed Mayank Agarwal (38) and, six overs later, he had Rishabh Pant (23) spectacularly caught at gully by Cameron Green.

The Australians haven't lost a Test match at the Gabba since 1988 but have been held to draws. To win the series, they need to score runs quickly on Monday with the aim of setting a big target and then bowling India out in the fourth innings. That's something they weren't able to do in the third Test in Sydney despite being in a strong position.

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“We’ve got a nice little lead now, 50 ahead. I think we’re ahead of the game," Hazlewood said. “Two big days to come."