‘Big Five’ not in picture, but what about persisting mediocrity?

Bangladesh cricket is set to get a glimpse of a new era in Tests when they take on hosts West Indies in the first of the two World Test Championship (WTC) fixtures from November 22 in Antigua.
The game will be the Tigers’ first in the format without any of the ‘Big Five’ — Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Mashrafe Bin Mortaza — since they all appeared together in a Test, also away to the Windies, in 2009.
However, the notion of a future sans the ‘Big Five’ isn’t something new for Bangladesh cricket and its fans.
The inevitable had been anticipated for a while now, but preparations for it have not matched the talk of the fear garnered at the prospect of it. There could be two bleak reasons for this — first, the subpar cricketing culture that could not provide another as talented a bunch of cricketers as the ‘Big Five’ in the past decade, and second, the over-hyped legacy left behind by the five stalwarts.
While their individual heroics bailed Bangladesh out a number of times or at least provided solace in an otherwise underwhelming match, series, tour, or tournament, the collective achievements of the ‘Big Five’ are a far cry from the level of hype they garnered.
Or, maybe, the hype is befitting the standard of a team like Bangladesh, who are currently tottering at nine in all three formats.
That game in which Bangladesh beat hosts West Indies by 95 runs in Kingstown in 2009 to register their only second Test victory was, however, the final appearance in the format for Mashrafe, who had to limp off the field due to an injury very early in that game.
Including that only Test, the ‘Big Five’ of Bangladesh’s cricket have played together in 111 matches across formats, helping the Tigers win on 54 occasions. Bangladesh lost in 53 of these matches with four producing no results.
Not as overwhelming a figure as it is made to look, right?
However, focusing only on results will definitely not give the entire picture of the impression that these particular five have left on Bangladesh cricket’s landscape.
As startling as it may sound, during the nearly 12-year period between their first appearance together for Bangladesh — against Sri Lanka in the inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup — and the last one — also in a World Cup, albeit in the ODI version, in a game against Pakistan at Lord’s in July 2019 — the Tigers have not played a single game across formats without at least one of the five stalwarts.
This particular fact shows how important each of Shakib, Tamim, Mushfiqur, Mahmudullah, and Mashrafe have been for Bangladesh. On the flip side, it also tells a sorry tale of a cricketing nation that has failed to produce such talents who could emulate, join, or, even surpass the legacy of these five cricketers — a statement that could be further validated by the fact that since the end of that 12-year period, Bangladesh have played 14 matches across formats without any of the ‘Big Five’ and the result has kind of been similar with the Tigers losing seven and winning six.
The fear of not having the experience of at least one of those stalwarts might have been made to sound like a huge deal, but as reality depicts, things have continued on the same trajectory as before.
With another Windies series knocking, will things take a turn for the better? Recent results, including the humiliating losses to South Africa at home and away to India in the previous two months, don’t augur well for the Tigers.
Even though they have been a part of the mediocre cricket Bangladesh have played over the years, the ‘Big Five’ are not to be blamed for how their contributions have been inflated more than deserved.
And, now, with none of these five cricketers in the picture for at least this Windies series, this gives the Tigers an opportunity to at least show indications of snapping out of the long-prevailing mediocrity.