A natural stroke-maker who enjoys playing shots, Tanzid Hasan Tamim has long been admired for his elegant batting. A regular feature in ODIs and T20Is, he is already a proven performer and, in some cases, even a match-winner in white-ball cricket. But his start in Test cricket has not gone as smoothly.
He was handed his Test debut in the Sylhet Test after opener Shadman Islam was ruled out with a chest injury. However, in the second Test of the series against Pakistan, he managed scores of 26 off 34 balls in the first innings and 4 off 7 in the second. Beyond the numbers, though, what stood out more was his approach, technique, and ability to adjust to top level red-ball cricket.
In the first innings, Tanzid got off the mark with a superb on-drive off Khurram Shahzad. He then struck three boundaries off Mohammad Abbas, the first a cover drive, the second a flick down the leg side, and the third a punch through point. Fair enough. With the field in place and scoring options available all around, it was positive batting.
He later edged a delivery from Hasan Ali in the eighth over while attempting to match the bounce of a good-length ball outside off stump, but was given a reprieve. The catch was spilled, and Hasan Ali even suffered a head injury in the process while attempting the catch. He had to be stretchered off the field and taken to hospital, although he later returned and resumed bowling.
Despite the early lifeline, Tanzid could not capitalise. On tenth over, he played an shot at a delivery outside off stump, aiming towards mid-on, only to top-edge it straight to Abbas, who completed the catch himself. Ironically, he had batted cautiously in the four balls leading up to it. With no scoreboard pressure, the shot still felt out of context, the kind that leaves you thinking, “What was that?”
Although Tanzid is generally a top-hand-oriented batter, when he looks to play across the line, towards mid-wicket, square leg, or even straight–he tends to rely heavily on his bottom hand. That bottom hand provides the extra force when he goes for power, with its main role being more about finishing the shot than shaping it.
When he tries to hit hard, the bottom hand often becomes stiff and dominant. Having played white-ball cricket extensively in that manner, it has become ingrained in his muscle memory. That is why he has now fallen in a similar fashion twice in the same innings, caught out while trying to force the ball. With a rigid bottom hand, even deliveries at the top of the bounce tend to be mistimed and travel on the strength of the shot rather than control.
This is not necessarily a technical flaw unique to him. It is simply the way he plays, shaped by habit and repetition. Such muscle memory cannot be changed overnight across formats; what is required is a mental transition.
After Bangladesh took a 46-run lead, Tanzid once again got off the mark in the second innings with a classy cover drive for four off Shahzad. But just an over later, he was back in the pavilion, dismissed by the same bowler.
From over the wicket, Shahzad bowled a good-length delivery in the corridor outside off stump. Tanzid, standing rooted to the crease, leaned back and tried to steer the ball towards the leg side. However, with the bat face already opened too early, he edged it to Saud Shakeel at gully. There was no footwork involved in the dismissal, and it was the kind of shot he likely did not anticipate playing.
When the Test squad for the Pakistan series was announced, chief selector Habibul Bashar Sumon had said Bangladesh needed an attacking opener like Tanzid, especially in the current World Test Championship cycle, which includes series against strong teams like Australia.
Although Tanzid’s start has not produced the big scores many expected, Sumon remains optimistic that the way he batted in the first innings is a foundation he can build on.
On the first day of the Sylhet Test, Sumon had said, “Tanzid made a good start. He looks good, but he definitely has a long way to go. I believe he can go a long way. Maybe there was some nervousness in his first Test. But he is a good player. Hopefully, he will play longer innings in the future.”
One thing is clear: the team management has given Tanzid a free hand to play his natural game on debut. The idea is to utilise a batter with his profile for counter-attacking intent.
As the chief selector also noted, “When we picked him, he was told to bat his way. He has played the way we expected him to. But in Test cricket, he will definitely have to build longer innings. I am hopeful we will see that in the future.”
Tanzid may have the freedom, and he is unlikely to move away from his natural stroke play. But red-ball cricket demands something different– patience, sessions built on discipline, and long periods of accumulation.
In this team, there are players like Mushfiqur Rahim, who recently handed him his debut cap, and Najmul Hossain Shanto, who has already created a template for Test format based on his strokemaking and temperament, Tanzid is neither of them. But the reality of red-ball cricket is something different altogether, and over time, both Mushfiqur and Shanto have learned it. In his debut Test across two innings, Tanzid may have learned it too.
