[tonoy]

Hey guys,

I wanted to discuss about the inclusion of Jahurul Islam and how significant his role will be on this test series.

First and foremost, I have to applaud the management for sticking with him on this tour and getting him couple of practice games to build up his confidence. I also appreciate the fact that they sent Jahurul out to bat instead of Ashraful right after Imrul's departure. A 16 of 53 balls was more or less the type of innings required from one end especially considering the fact that the day was about to end. Also, reading about how Ashraful has decided to change his overall batting approach by reverting to his old aggressive self makes me think that he would better be suited to bat at number five or six. It is not to say that I think Ashraful would have failed if he was sent down at number four yesterday. I think management was quite smart to have faith on Jahurul at number four.

So far, he seems to be in good touch and in control except for the inside edge at the last over yesterday. It seems to me that he is adept on handling bounce. I will reserve my judgment of his technique against spin as I feel he will face a lot of them tomorrow. So far the hard work seems to have been done. All he needs to do tomorrow is to play off the initial overs and then build up on that partnership with Junaid.

This series will mean a lot for Jahurul. And Bangladesh will certainly benefit a lot if he could emulate his domestic success on this tour. It would also instill a greater faith on the domestic first class competition to the selectors and fans.

What are your opinions?