by “He could play as a hitter [only]”, Domingo said after Bangladesh lost the first Test. ” Obviously he didn’t do enough knockdowns. He’s still struggling with his shoulder and [ribcage] bruises. That left us with four bowlers – a big blow for us.
“Ebadot [Hossain] is broken down [too], so we were stuck with three bowlers. It is very difficult to balance the side at the moment. I’m not 100% sure if Shakib would be able to bowl. He’s definitely available to play as a hitter, which is a problem for us. We need an all-rounder.”
Shakib made 84 in the second leg at Chattogram, trying to hit Kuldeep Yadav as he looked for quick runs even as Bangladesh continued to lose wickets at the other end on the fifth morning. The hosts ultimately lost the match by 188 points, but Shakib’s stick was one of the game’s few bright spots.
Domingo said Shakib has shown that despite his “laid back” attitude, he is hungry to perform in Tests. The topic was discussed after Shakib was not seen on the pitch for some periods in India’s opening rounds, but Domingo believes Shakib wants to continue playing in the Tests.
“It’s a tricky question. It’s a good question,” he said. “He looks very laid back, but when he’s in the competition he’s proud of his performance. Looking from the outside, you can think, ‘Does he really care?’. But I know he’s very proud of performances. He doesn’t want to be embarrassed there. He competes 100 per cent.”
“We wanted to compete. India are a good team but again a bad batting session destroyed our chance in the game,” Domingo said. “Four hundred is a good score, but it’s manageable in Chittagong. We shouldn’t have been knocked out for 150 in the first innings. The most disappointing thing is the poor decision making by the batters.
“There’s a lack of confidence in the upper order. They can’t find a way out of the crisis. There’s a whole host of players in the top five or six who haven’t played well or haven’t been as consistent as I had hoped. The young player who didn’t play the Tests with us is confident at the moment. He showed us how to do it. He played very well.”
Domingo was particularly disappointed with the timing of Litton Das’ dismissal on the fourth night. He had built up a fine defensive approach, but six minutes before the tea break he fired a straight halfway out of it, playing what looked like a half-hearted loft from Kuldeep.
“He lacks confidence and is constantly watched and under pressure. He tries too hard, listens to a lot of opinions and tries a lot of things”
Domingo explains why Mominul Haque was abandoned
“I was disappointed with Litton’s dismissal, especially the timing of it,” he said. “He’s such a good player so I’m sure he’d be disappointed with that too. I don’t see Virat, Root, Smith or Marnus giving their wicket away in that kind of fashion six minutes before tea. Litton is that good for us.”
Domingo also explained that Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Mominul Haque were dropped due to lack of form.
“It’s based on the fact that at the national level and for the A side, [Joy] didn’t really have a lot of late starts,” he said. “He hasn’t played international cricket for five to six months. It was a no-brainer to pick Zakir because of his confidence and form. That’s why Joy missed her shot.
“Mominul got 10 of his 11 hundreds on this site. He would be the first to admit that last year he didn’t have the points. But he’s too good a player not to have it. You don’t can’t lose a player of Mominul’s quality, he will definitely be considered for the second test.
“Mominul lacks confidence. He is under constant surveillance, [and] pressure. He probably tries too hard, listens to a lot of opinions, [and] try a lot of things. He has to backtrack to find his to get groceries. Some of the best players in the world have been through crises.”
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo’s correspondent in Bangladesh. @isam84
