It has been a poor run in Tests for Bangladesh since their first victory in 2022 against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui. Although a failure in Test cricket implies being inferior to the opposition in terms of every department of the game, Bangladesh's batting deserves a much bigger share of the blame for the recent failure against South Africa and Sri Lanka, especially the top order.
As far as the conditions of the upcoming West Indies tour are concerned, the top order is highly likely to face a real test of quality pace bowling in the two-match Test series.
Before talking about how hard things can be for the Bangladeshi batters, the fact that Kemar Roach and Jayden Seales were the joint-highest wicket-takers in the series against England in March 2022, which the West Indies won, should be noted.
Kemar Roach has taken most of his Test wickets (34) against Bangladesh with an average of just 21.47. Bowling just 42.5 overs against Bangladesh, Jason Holder has picked up 16 wickets with an average of 8.94. This means Holder has to bowl just 2 overs and 4 balls to pick up 1 wicket against the Tigers. Needless to say, Bangladesh is the favourite opponent of this pace-bowling duo.
When Bangladesh toured the West Indies in 2018 and got all out for just 43 in the first Test, the likes of Kemar Roach, Jason Holder and Miguel Cummins created a calamity using the 'corridor of uncertainty,' making it pitch on a good length, move in and straighten up. Roach in 2018 and Asitha Fernando in 2022 had a common victim of the same policy, Mominul Haque. Against Asitha Fernando, he seemed in two minds trying to both play and leave, which might be a result of his recent poor run and struggle to reach even double-digit scores.
Another top-order left-handed batter who is highly likely to give away his wicket in the same fashion is Najmul Hossain Shanto. He has been getting out caught behind the wicket playing away from the body in almost every series since his debut. The recent series against Sri Lanka has been no different. If it's not Tamim Iqbal's day, starting things from 30/3 might continue to be a regular scenario for Bangladesh.
As Mushfiqur Rahim is on a leave, Yasir Ali is likely to be in the playing XI. The two youngsters, Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Yasir Ali are talented and potential future stars, but this series will be a real test for both of them.
Yasir Ali is known to be a good negotiator with a solid defence and technique, but his response to the deliveries that bounce a bit more has not been up to the mark, as he has shown the tendency to get bamboozled playing the bouncers, edging or gloving it to the fielders close to him. His role will be a crucial one, especially if the top order fails, and he should adapt to leaving the shorter ones more, like what Joy did at Mount Maunganui this year.
To avoid being 24/4 once again, the likes of Mominul and Shanto need to find a way to put an end to their bad patch. Tamim has to make use of his experience and solve his problem of overcommitting to the deliveries on his pads, and Joy has to leave and decrease his rate of playing away from the body significantly.
It can not be Liton's day every day, and a start of 24/4 might result in another 43 all out.
