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Ever since the 17-man Bangladesh squad for the ACC Men's Asia Cup 2023 was declared on August 12, Mahmudullah Riyad's exclusion has been the town's talk. There have been some statements on social media from the family members of the cricketer and some professionals, which gave birth to controversy.
However, we will only review the statistics and cricketing facts regarding the issue. The big question arises: is Mahmudullah an option for Bangladesh right now?
To answer that, we need to look at the probable batting order of the team. Alongside Litton Das, the three most probable openers would be Tanzid Tamim, Naim Sheikh and the rumoured possible makeshift opener, Afif Hossain.
At no. 3, Nazmul Hossain Shanto has been a reliable figure, averaging 39.00 with an 87.2 strike rate, having played most of his matches in this position this year.
The recent few series' middle order has followed the 'Shakib Al Hasan at 4, Towhid Hridoy at 5 and Mushfiqur Rahim at 6' combination, barring some situation-based changes.
Hridoy has been averaging 53.67 with an excellent strike rate of 103.21 at 5. His tendency to rotate the strike regularly and not let the pressure build on the batting team is exactly what Bangladesh needs, so demoting him down the order to make room for anyone else wouldn't make any sense now.
Both Hridoy and Mushfiqur have done exceptionally well at their positions, with the veteran campaigner adapting to his new role in a way that left everyone in awe.
If the batting position and the kind of role to play are taken into account, the only spot left for Mahmudullah would be the no. 7 one.
Mahmudullah indeed has an ODI average of 34.72 in that position, which is the third highest ever in the history after MS Dhoni's 44.76 and Michael Leask's 35.96 (min 30 innings). Still, he has not batted in the position for more than four years. Mahmudullah's last innings coming in to bat at no. 7 was in December 2018. In the previous 7 years, he played the role just 8 times.
Would he still be able to adapt to the role again, as he did many times before in his career?
The situation at 7 is such that the batter should be able to accelerate and not give away too many dot balls. In the ODIs since 2021, although Mahmudullah averaged 46.3, his strike rate has been just 74.1. He is not the fittest, but, indeed, he can still rebuild an innings after a possible collapse.
But for that, his best positions would be no.5 and no.6, which are already occupied by Towhid Hridoy and Mushfiqur Rahim, as discussed.
The team would demand more than just batting from the batter coming after Mushfiqur Rahim and before Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
Mahmudullah' the bowler' has been affected by a shoulder injury a long while ago, and his role as a sixth bowler hasn't been significant over the years.
Shamim Hossain, an agile fielder, is the most probable option for the role right now. He has shown his ability to score quickly in the recently concluded T20I series against Afghanistan and can save some good runs for the team as a fielder. In that case, Shanto can act as the sixth bowler of the team.
Another player included in the 17-man squad is Mahedi Hasan, who can be crucial with the ball in the conditions that support the spinners, where there is some grip and turn to work with.
Therefore, to conclude, it can be said that neither Shamim nor Mahedi, it's Towhid Hridoy who has taken the place of Mahmudullah indirectly by replacing Mushfiqur at no. 5, who replaced Mahmudullah at no. 6.