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Jaker Ali believes that all batters, not just Mushfiqur Rahim, must step up if Bangladesh wants to level the series against Zimbabwe by winning the second and final Test, which begins on April 28 at the Bir Shrestha Flight Lieutenant Motiur Rahman Stadium in Chattogram.

The hosts lost the first Test by three wickets at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, and the batting fell under scrutiny again as the failures continued.  

Bangladesh managed 191 and 255 across the two innings where there were only three fifty-run innings. The form of Mushfiqur Rahim has also been a big talking point, as the veteran got out after scoring four runs on both occasions. 

That stretched the number of Mushfiq’s fifty-less innings to 12, which is the most in his 95-Test career. As he is approaching 38 and has already retired from the other two formats, Mushfiq is undoubtedly under tremendous pressure. 

But Jaker reminded that it’s not only Mushfiq who has been struggling while talking to the reporters ahead of their practice session in Chattogram on Saturday.

‘Look, he’s not the only player on the side,’ said the wicketkeeper-batter. ‘He doesn’t have to score all the runs all the time. We all have to contribute. Currently, he might not be scoring, and that’s fine. It can happen to anyone. The responsibility is upon all of us.’

Jaker also said that the least they can do is to show some intent while batting. 

He said, ‘If not getting runs, at least we need to show fight—like Hasan [Mahmud] did. His batting in the last innings was excellent. I loved it. He fought. Not everyone will score every day, but we must show intent. If we do that, I believe the big runs will come.’ 

‘I think we all need to step up. We need to perform well. Nothing more than that. Mushfiq Bhai works hard. He’s trying to find a way,’ added Jaker. 

The 27-year-old from Sylhet, who scored four fifties in his first four matches, said that the team’s main focus would be on batting again. 

He said, ‘As the result of the first Test hasn›t come our way, we are in our process. We had a good discussion after the match. We struggled because of our batting. Our focus will be on batting to do well. In most of the matches, we struggle because of batting. So the focus will be on that.’

He also mentioned that not all the time bowlers alone would be able to win matches for them. 

‘Most of the time our bowlers win matches for us, but not every time they will do that. So we want our batters to give the best performances so that we can win comfortably,’ said Jaker. 

He also reflected on his batting approach, as most of the time the tailenders only accompany him late in the order. 

‘I try to be simple. It’s all about mindset. I have some personal processes. I try to concentrate. I don’t rush to score runs in Tests, but I do that in T20s. There are some subtle changes. I try to use those as mind games,’ said Jaker.