Do matchups work in modern cricket? The answer is certainly yes.
But Bangladesh National Cricket Team’s senior assistant coach, Mohammad Salahuddin, thinks otherwise.
You often see left-handed batters struggling against off-spinners and right-handed batters vulnerable to left-arm spin. Teams strategically analyze opponents, exploiting weaknesses in these tactical aspects of the game.
Take Nasum Ahmed as the latest example.
The Dutch contingent arrived in Sylhet for a three-match T20I series with five right-handers in their top seven. It looked like the perfect stage for Bangladesh to deploy their only left-arm spinner, Nasum. But he was left on the sidelines for the first T20I, despite performing well in his last outing against Pakistan in Mirpur, where he took two wickets for 22 runs.
In the series opener on Saturday, leg-spinner Rishad Hossain was picked alongside off-spinner Mahedi Hasan, leaving Nasum out of the XI, a surprising omission.
Nasum’s exclusion remained an unsolved puzzle. On Sunday, coach Salahuddin was asked about it at the pre-match press conference. Could Nasum have been included in the XI, given the Dutch had so many right-hand batters?
“As a batting coach, if you ask me, right-handed or left-handed doesn’t really matter to me,” Salahuddin replied.
The veteran coach dismissed the matchup theory, saying: “Whoever bats well will be able to perform in any condition. When we are given a squad of 15 or 16 players, we cannot accommodate everyone. Even if you were sitting here, you would also have to choose 11 players. When you feel these are the best 11 to win tomorrow’s match, you pick them. So whenever it is felt appropriate, he will play. We are also seeing that he is bowling well.”
However, given the opportunity, Nasum showed exactly why matchups work in white-ball cricket, especially in T20s, and just how effective they can be. In his very first over with the ball, he struck twice in succession.
On a back-of-a-length delivery with a bit of low bounce, Max O’Dowd cleared his front leg to play over mid-on but mistimed and was caught. Off the very next ball, Nasum shortened the length further, and Teja Nidamanuru, attempting a sliced square cut, was caught at backward point. Later, Paul van Meekeren was dismissed by a quicker delivery.
After Nasum’s brilliant performance, the Dutch couldn’t bounce back and were bundled out for just 103 runs. The rest was taken care of by Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman. With a commanding 9-wicket victory, Bangladesh sealed the series with a match to spare.
Nasum claimed the Man of the Match award with an economical spell of 4-0-21-3. All of his wickets were right-handers. Nasum once again proved why matchups matter and why he was too hot to handle for the Dutch.
