With their 'Big Five' gone, what's the way forward for Bangladesh in T20Is?

Over the past few weeks, Shakib Al Hasan has retired from Tests and T20Is , and Mahmudullah has also retired from the shortest format , having retired from Tests earlier. That means none of Bangladesh's big five - Tamim Iqbal , Mushfiqur Rahim and Mashrafe Mortaza the others - are part of T20I cricket anymore. It isn't Bangladesh's best format anyway, and now they will have to plan for the future, particularly the 2026 T20 World Cup. Here are some things to think about.

Find a replacement for Shakib

Well, it's near impossible to do as much as Shakib did. He is their most skilled bowler in the format, apart from being a middle-order mainstay. Not to mention the experience and cricket nous. Bangladesh currently don't have a middle-order batter who can bowl four overs - not many teams do.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz has played T20Is as a batting allrounder, batting lower down the order and bowling a few overs. But Mehidy's bowling isn't suited to T20s, so going into Bangladesh's next T20I assignments, they will need two cricketers to replace Shakib. And even that is easier said than done.

Rethink the Mahmudullah role

In his T20I retirement announcement, Mahmudullah named a few batters who could potentially replace him, but Bangladesh might as well rethink their whole middle-order line-up.

They have to find cricketers who can tackle the modern needs of T20 batting. This is one area where Bangladesh haven't moved fast at all. Mahmudullah was definitely their first batter who changed his game to suit the requirement of batting from overs 14 to 20, but even that style of batting is fast looking outdated - when at his best, between 2016 and 2019, Mahmudullah raised his strike rate from 103.78 to 132.33, but it came down to 110.20 in the last four years.

How quickly can Bangladesh find the right player? They don't play a lot of domestic T20s, and the BCB is usually reluctant to give NOCs for overseas leagues.

Where is the next Tamim?

Bangladesh have employed 17 different openers since Tamim's last T20I, in March 2020. He announced his retirement in 2022, having already taken a break from the format in the previous year so that Mohammad Naim and Litton Das could settle in. It didn't work, as Bangladesh have rotated their openers with Litton being the only constant.

Only Rony Talukdar stood out in 2023, when he had a strike rate of 141.95 in nine innings, but he wasn't given a longer rope. Tanzid Hasan and Parvez Hossain Emon are the current openers alongside Litton, who is also struggling in India. Interestingly, Tamim himself remains the only performing opener in the country, finishing the last BPL as the highest run-getter even as he led Fortune Barishal to their maiden title.

Hridoy steps into Mushfiqur's role

When Mushfiqur retired from T20Is two years ago, Towhid Hridoy made an impressive entry into the side. He had a strong BPL season, and followed it up with quick runs batting mostly at No. 4 - Mushfiqur's preferred batting position throughout his T20I career. It was the ideal handover between two batters, but the Bangladesh team management moved Hridoy around so much in the ODI side that he appears to have lost his T20 mojo too.

Hridoy's shot-making is proof that if given his own place in the middle order - ideally No. 4 - he can add stability to what is often a shaky batting order, but also take his innings deep. It took Mushfiqur years to fathom this role in T20Is. Hridoy might not need that long, but the team management needs to get the plan right.

Mashrafe replaced as bowler, not as captain

Bangladesh's fast bowlers have become match-winners in the last three years. They have adjusted well to the three formats, with Mustafizur Rahman considered their best T20 bowler of all time. Taskin Ahmed has also grown in leaps and bounds, while Tanzim Hasan has acted as the perfect third seamer, particularly in helpful conditions.

So Bangladesh have succeeded in replacing Mashrafe - who retired from T20Is seven years ago - the fast bowler. But they haven't found a captain as good as Mashrafe. Najmul. Hossain Shanto is clearly struggling in T20Is. He is a new, and young, captain, and has been given charge of all three teams. Splitting up the captaincy looks like a viable option, but they need someone who commands the dressing room's full respect. If they can find that person, maybe they will also get back Shanto the batter at his best.