Salahuddin tips Tanzid, Emon for breakthrough

Bangladesh assistant head coach Mohammad Salahuddin believes opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim and Parvez Hossain Emon are ready to make an impact, having tasted success at global age-level tournaments. The pair has been playing together since their Under-19 days and were key to Bangladesh's historic ICC U-19 World Cup win - still the country's only global trophy.

As Bangladesh gears up for a three-match T20I series against the Netherlands - seen as a build-up to the Asia Cup - much of the attention will be on the two left-handers. Both now look settled at the top of the order in white-ball cricket and seem intent on playing the kind of fearless game that can give the team early momentum.

Salahuddin, speaking to Cricbuzz, said the youngsters are beginning to understand their games better. "When I came in the team, I tried to find out the main problems. As our experienced players left, we needed a good opening stand to proceed," Salahuddin told Cricbuzz.

"In Tests, after a long time, Shadman is in a good condition. We are trying to find out another opener. In ODIs and T20Is, we play with five-six batters. Our lower order batters do not perform well. So, I think I cannot change everything at a time. We need small fine tuning quickly," he said.

"If the openers are set, that will be a big boost for the team. So, instead of changing everything at a time, I think it is better to make small changes for the betterment of the team," he said.

"Emon and Tamim have been playing together since under-19s. Most importantly, they had the taste of winning a World Cup. So, they can play fearless cricket, they can play shots. The courage and shots needed to play in under-19s is present in them," he said.

"Maybe they are not matured enough yet. Their understanding is increasing and it is visible. I think, after some time, they themselves will understand what should be done. They will develop it, and the technical matters as well. The game understanding, handling the situation and the mutual understanding have been growing," he said. "If they play well, that will be good for the team. They both are dominating characters with attitudes, which is very important at this level of cricket. If they can grow a better mutual understanding, we will get a good opening partnership in future," he added.

Salahuddin also feels the Test and T20I squads are largely settled, with players aware of their roles, but admits the ODI side still needs work.

"I think we have a settled Test side now. The players who are playing have been together for a long time, and there's a clear idea of who will do the batting, who will bowl, and who will handle the pace attack. There's a continuity - not too many changes, and I don't think there will be many either.

"We're in a sort of rhythm now, where everyone more or less knows who's going to play and how they're going to play. T20s have also almost reached that level - we're developing a consistent pattern there too," Salahuddin said.

"But when it comes to the one-day side, that's where things still need some calculation. There are a lot of factors to consider. ODIs tend to rely more on experienced players. One thing to understand is that if you look at the middle order over the years - players like Shakib, Mushfiqur, and Mahmudullah have occupied those positions and now in those roles, we haven't yet been able to establish anyone firmly," he said.

"On top of that, the players currently playing in those positions don't even bat there regularly in domestic cricket. In one-day cricket, you often have to change your role - and sometimes very quickly. If wickets fall, you play one way; if they don't, you play another. Your role changes after 10 overs, and again after 30 overs. The demands of the game keep shifting, so you constantly have to adapt. That's where experience comes in.

"I believe that once the boys get used to reading these situations and calculating accordingly, we'll start doing well in that area too. Even though we often say that ODIs are our strength, I feel that since we're not yet used to this middle-order setup - particularly at positions four, five, and six - we're still finding our feet," Salahuddin opined, further talking up the importance of the middle-order.

"These are very crucial positions where you need to rotate strike and play according to the demands of the game. This often requires experienced players. As I said earlier, we had a stable setup in those positions for a long time, and that has suddenly disappeared. So, the new players will need a bit of time. If you look at T20Is or Tests, the reason we perform consistently there is because everyone knows what their role is, what they're supposed to do and when. Once we reach that level of clarity in ODIs as well, things will become much easier for us," he said.

The team is scheduled to begin skill training at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Friday (August 15) after completing their fitness camp. They are then expected to move to Sylhet, with the series set to be played at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium from August 30.