Taijul Islam fits neatly into Bangladesh’s Test line-up, often stemming the flow of runs when the opposition is piling on the pressure; but has the management shown enough faith in him?

Mohammad Isam10-Feb-2017The second day of the Hyderabad Test belonged to Virat Kohli but the man who finally removed him could feel satisfied with his efforts. Taijul Islam was slightly lucky to get the prized wicket as the leg-before decision looked iffy on replay, but when you have been the most consistent bowler in an attack that has been taken for 687 runs, a bit of good fortune is justified.Taijul finished with three wickets, a paltry haul compared to some of his bigger ones, but he held up well against a prolific batting line-up, accounting for M Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane and Kohli. Two of those wickets came at the back-end of big scores and Rahane’s – for 83 – was brilliantly snapped up by Mehedi Hasan.His accurate left-arm spin, developed over the years in the first-class circuit, fits into many of Bangladesh’s bowling efforts where the opposition batting line-up applies a lot of pressure by batting long. That’s where Taijul usually comes in, holding up one end and pegging away on one spot. He doesn’t bowl much on middle stump to the right-handers, instead bowling the delivery that pitches on off and spins away. His biggest strength is the bounce he generates from his high-arm action, which is augmented by the jump at the time of delivery.Among his three victims, Taijul bowled the least to Vijay, giving away one boundary before bowling him around his legs. He kept Rahane quiet in the early stages of his innings and, even during the long first spell on the second day, Taijul didn’t give him much – off the 36 balls he faced, Rahane made 12 runs.Taijul kept it tight and could have had more if Mushfiqur Rahim hadn’t missed a stumping of Wriddhiman Saha•AFPTaijul also tied up Cheteshwar Pujara, who got only nine runs off 40 balls, but Kohli was a different proposition. Like he had been against all the Bangladesh bowlers, Taijul too was bashed by the India captain, who scored 55 runs off him, hitting five boundaries off 79 deliveries faced. But, by virtue of bowling most number of deliveries to Kohli, Taijul also bowled the most dot balls to him.Among all the Bangladesh spinners, Taijul looked most likely to dismiss Kohli. He forced him to come forward a number of times, and was as accurate as one can be against such a marauding force. When he did trap Kohli leg-before, the ball slid back into his pads as he attempted a late cut.His first spell today lasted 17 overs in which he gave away 56 runs to take two wickets. But like the rest of the bowling attack, he too got tired. In his last spell, Taijul was taken to the cleaners by Ravindra Jadeja, giving away 50 off ten overs. Maybe the spell at the end was compensation for bringing him into the attack late on the first day, where he bowled 20 overs and looked like Mushfiqur Rahim’s most viable option after coming on to bowl in the 36th over.Being overlooked until there is no other choice within the bowling attack has been a feature of Taijul’s international career so far.He started off with a five-wicket haul in his debut Test innings against the West Indies. In his first home Test, Taijul took Bangladesh’s best Test figures of 8 for 39 against Zimbabwe in a dramatic spell that brought the side a hard-fought win in Dhaka. And his third and most recent five-for came against Pakistan, when he took 6 for 163 in Chittagong in April 2015. He also took a hat-trick on his ODI debut, against Zimbabwe in November 2014.Despite these performances, he hasn’t always been a straightforward selection, particularly after Mehedi Hasan burst on to the scene late last year. This after a brief period in 2014-15 when legspinner Jubair Hossain had climbed ahead in the pecking order.During Bangladesh’s New Zealand tour in December-January, Taijul was with the team but didn’t play a single match. Mehedi was preferred as the second spinner, given that Taijul had not taken too many wickets in the previous Test series against England.Mehedi later said that Taijul’s mental strength, after having sat out the entire New Zealand tour, was impressive. “Taijul bhai bowled really well,” he said. “He was playing at this level for the first time since the England matches in October. He didn’t play at all in New Zealand so his comeback really was pleasing. He showed great mentality. He bowled tightly, and spun the ball a number of times. He created a lot of chances.”But he is the sort of quiet, strong character who doesn’t seem fazed by most situations. There should always be a place for someone like Taijul in this line-up: he brings a cool head always required in an emotionally unpredictable team. He won’t always bowl the big spells but a bit of certainty could help him come into his own and provide the bowling line-up with a strong backbone in Tests.