Slow left arm army; suffocation Bangladesh style

Bangladesh is strangulating teams in the middle, strangling them with a unique army that world cricket has never seen and against all odds they are reigning in a style which no one anticipated before. The smothering influence of Mohammad Rafique, Abdur Razzak and Sakib Al Hasan is disgruntling batsmen one after another leading to their untimely demise. The guile of the web weaved by the SLA army finds helpless batsmen groping for air in the crucial middle overs. The spin trio has given Bangladesh the strength to scoff at rankings and clinically outshine oppositions under difficult conditions.

They shared 12 wickets between them in 59.4 overs giving away only 213 runs in Bangladesh's recent triumphs over India and South Africa. And this statistics only reveals a part of the influence they are imposing in every game. They have a much more astounding domination and enforce ruthless execution of their incomparable combat plan.

Slow left arm bowling is one of the most difficult arts of bowling and world cricket haven’t seen many bowlers over the years. When the art is dying in other parts of cricketing world, Bangladesh is becoming the breeding ground of world beating SLA bowlers.

Playing 3 bowlers with same bowling style might look fanciful and a dim witted decision but that’s not the case when anyone thinks about the slow left army from Bangladesh. They might share the same bowling style but each of them is unique in their way of hunting. Mohammad Rafique, Abdur Razzak and Sakib Al Hasan, the three men army have their uncanny abilities to confine the batsman with their line, loop, length and variety to impose an asphyxiating feeling. Most batsmen cannot tolerate the suffocation and eventually decease when try to break the shackle.

Wicket type, bowling first or second, quality of opposition nothing can dent the venoms of their snarling darts and they are always keen to take the fight to the opposition. Enter Mohammad Rafique, he will tie up the batsmen with his accurate rhythmical bowling, flatter trajectories and unbelievably effective armers to fool the batsmen. He uses all his experience to read the mind of the batsman and forces him to make errors. Rafique, a keen learner at the age of 37 is getting better and greener with every single match. He has set outstanding examples and high standards for the young stars around the world with his hard work and dedication.

Enter Abdur Razzak, the most versatile of the three, he will fox the batsman with his variation in flight, change of pace and ever tidy line. He possesses the lethal arm ball to flummox even the best batsman of the world like the one he used to remove Sachin Tendulkar against India. Razzak is making his presence felt within two years of arrival in international scenario and is undoubtedly one of the best ODI bowlers with his resourceful armory and breathtaking clobbers.

Enter Sakib Al Hasan, he will mix his youthful verve with unprecedented maturity to bamboozle the batsman regardless of experience. He uses his crease so beautifully to throw the venom, even the best spinner of the world will be delighted to have that ability.

It’s such a unique blend of experience, courage and youthful vim that cannot be matched by any other bowling combinations of current cricket. They complement each other and impose a synergistic effect on their collective performance to bring out the best for Bangladesh.

World have seen great fast bowlers hunting in pairs like Wasim-Waqar and Walsh-Ambrose combination, they have also seen attacking bowlers like Muralitharan and Warne. Now, for the first time they are witnessing the hunting of a spin army who strangulate the opposition and offers no mercy. This is a unique addition to cricket world and is the pivotal factor behind the emergence of Bangladesh as “giant killer” of cricket world.