“Nahid Rana was well within our workload management policy,” Bashar said. “The GPS tracker tells us everything these days, so we decide which match, how many matches, and which series each fast bowler will play. Nahid Rana didn’t play all the matches when Australia toured here in June. He was available for the two Tests in Australia according to the workload management.”

Rana has been in excellent form this year, picking up 44 wickets including four five-wicket hauls. His combination of skills – pace and bounce – is rare for a Bangladeshi bowler, so he was tipped to do well in Australian conditions. Rana had troubled the Australian batters during the ODI series in Dhaka in June this year after which he was rested for the one-off Test against Zimbabwe. He took part in the ODI series that followed, registering the best figures by a Bangladesh fast bowler (6-21), but his tour was cut short by the side strain.

“We didn’t pick him for the Test against Zimbabwe by being extra cautious,” Bashar said on Monday. “He got hurt in the second T20I after having played the first two ODIs, so it was unfortunate. We could have avoided playing him, but the ODIs were part of our push towards the World Cup.

“We also have to keep in mind that he had to bowl enough overs. You can’t just let him sit out matches. He has to bowl a certain number of deliveries to be match ready. We had to consider that part too. His injury is unfortunate; it could have happened in Australia. It is hard to keep fast bowlers free of injuries.”

“We kept our regular batters in the squad for the Zimbabwe Test. We had our main bowlers available but we were extra cautious about them, so we rested all of them,” Bashar said. “We lost the Test due to our batting. We batted very poorly. We still had bowlers like Ebadot [Hossain], Khaled [Ahmed] and Hasan Mahmud, who are all Test specialists.

“It was not about our bowling, it was about our batting. I don’t think we batted well in the Test, ODIs or T20Is on that tour. We certainly didn’t face any external pressures, but it is hard to swallow a defeat against Zimbabwe. We have to be accountable, so you hear a few things. It was hard to accept that defeat.”

The onus now is on the rest of Bangladesh’s fast bowlers, including Taskin Ahmed, to step it up when they face Australia in Darwin (August 13-17) and Mackay (August 22-28).

‘There was desperation’ – Bashar on picking Soumya

“You can say that there was a bit of desperation,” he said. “To be honest, those who made runs in the NCL are new players. Zakir Hasan had played Tests before, but we felt Soumya had more familiarity with playing pace bowling. None of our players in the pipeline are ready. We have to give the likes of Shibli [Ariful Islam] and Pritom Kumar a year or two.”

Soumya, if he slots into the XI, will make an entirely left-handed top four alongside Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto.

“We were aware that by picking Soumya, we will have too many left-handers in the top order,” Bashar said. “It is certainly not ideal, which is why [Mahmudul Hasan] Joy fit into our combination as a right-hand opener. But so far, Joy’s performance is concerning. We felt he is out of form, and his batting is in a vulnerable state. We felt that the team management may not keep him in their combination, so we are sending him to South Africa with the A team. We are hopeful he can return to form on that tour.”