Is there a place for leg spinners in Bangladesh?

'Did you play any matches?' former Bangladesh skipper Mohammad Ashraful asked emerging leg spinner Minhajul Abedin before their crucial Dhaka Premier League game against Prime Bank. Minhajul, who represented champions Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club Limited in the just concluded DPL, nodded in a manner where it seemed that he is getting used to rejection.

Minhajul, who was dropped from the do-or-die affair against Prime Bank, can consider himself lucky that he eventually got a game in the season when SKDCL took on Legends of Rupganj considering they earned their title in the previous game and the last match was nothing short of formality for them.

Is there a place for leg spinners in Bangladesh? The question has popped up once again as they seemed to be a non entity in the just concluded DPL, country's traditional List A tournament.

Two emerging leg spinners of the country - Rishad Hossain and Minhajul - who were part of BCB's High Performance Unit, only managed to get one match a piece in the tournament.

Another leg spinner Aminul Islam was lucky to play 10 matches in the league but that was largely due to his batting prowess than his bowling skills considering he picked up only three wickets in six games where he bowled sporadically. ''I probably played as an all-rounder,'' Aminul told Cricbuzz when his attention was drawn regarding his role.

''I am not sure why they (team management and others related with the decision making process) do not give ball to leg spinners more often. Probably because they don't want to embrace leg spinners,'' he said.

Aminul, who was the last leg spinner to play for Bangladesh, is certainly passing a torrid time considering his international career seems to be at stake considering he is nowhere in the national radar nowadays. Jubair Hossain, who was considered to be a big spin prodigy following his arrival at the international scene before fading away quickly, was not lucky enough like the trio as he failed to get any team in the DPL.

''Whenever I got chance everyone from the management said that I have to perform in that particular game because there will be no second chance for me,'' said Jubair, who was not in any team's plans in first-class cricket either. ''I am not sure about others but this really put me under immense pressure and now as I am nowhere I am not sure what is in store for me."

BCB chief selector Minhajul Abedin looked helpless with the prevailing situation. "We cannot force a team to play a leg spinner and all we can do is to request them so that they give them a chance," he said.

The BCB introduced separate red-ball and white-ball contracts for the first time last year in order to be more accommodative but there is still no place for a leg spinner. BCB once made it mandatory to play a leg spinner in the Bangladesh Premier League before backing out. Later, it was decided that playing leg spinner is not mandatory but a priority. The teams hardly pay any heed to it as their inclusion does not guarantee success.

Leg spinners had always been at the bottom of the priority list in Bangladesh and it was nothing surprising for former national skipper Mashrafee bin Mortaza, who represented Legends of Rupganj in the DPL. He insisted that quality leg spinners are not coming up due to lack of role models.

'Leg spinners never played so there is nothing new to say about this. Today our foreign player said that in 16 matches he did not face any leg spinner and that too after playing against one today and so it is nothing new," Mortaza told reporters after their last game against champions Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club on Thursday. ''We don't have any leg spinner and so I am requesting the young generation that someone should take this step.

"I think this is an opportunity for the youngsters to deliver as a leg spinner but there is also a fear of not getting a place in the national side. I think someone have to take the brave decision of becoming a capable leg spinner because it is the easy way out to be in the national team. 15 to 20 years back when I came to the media there was this trend that Bangladesh cannot produce fast bowlers and it will always be left-arm spinners but now you see fast bowlers are playing more matches than left-arm spinners so situation changes," he further added.

"Probably there is no legacy like Shakib and Rafique bhai (Mohammad Rafique) as far as leg spinner is concerned. I am sure this is the weakest link in Bangladesh cricket.

The country's leading spin coach Sohel Islam, who also was the head coach of Sheikh Jamal, insisted that teams are more inclined for left-arm spinners instead of leg spinners considering because the former is more accurate than the latter. ''I think finger spinners are more accurate than the wrist spinners here in our country. Accuracy is very important while playing here," said Sohel.

"If someone went for too many runs then obviously the momentum would be shifted to the other side. I don't think there is any team which can take such a risk in competitive cricket,'' he said adding that wrist spinners should be playing first-class cricket as that gives them the opportunity to bowl a lot of overs.

In reality, that is easier said than done considering first-class teams are also not ready to back the leg spinners to large extent citing they are not willing to take a risk with them.

Cricbuzz understands that the BCB is likely to include a leg spinner in the warm-up game against Sri Lanka while they are also contemplating including them in the HP program. Unless they find a way to ensure these leg spinners are playing competitive cricket these steps hardly will reap benefit.