Unburdened of captaincy and wicket-keeping, Mushfiq in form of his life
Mushfiq is in the form of his life and finally fulfilling his potential.
Just before the Test series against India last year, Mushfiq Rahim had made the announcement that he wanted to leave wicket-keeping duties from the longest format.
The series, a horrendous one for the visiting Bangladesh had only one bright spot and that was the batting of Mushfiq Rahim.
He played with the right amount of commitment and dedication required to fend off a relentless Indian pace bowling attack.
Although his batting wasn't enough to avoid an innings defeat in any of the two Tests, he showed that he was there as one of the batting mainstays in the team.
Questions have been raised about his wicket-keeping and previously his captaincy (when he was captain) and many have been asking him to focus more on his batting; he has listened.
There is no pleasing everyone though, and as we treat the national team players as our own as a cricket-crazy nation, we want Mushfiq to bat higher up the order; that may happen too.
But for now, we have to give credit where credit is due, and that is Mushfiq is delivering with the bat whether he bats higher up the order or not.
Mushfiq loves playing against Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe, a familiar opposition and one which Mushfiq is fond of as he has two double tons against them, didn't pose the most deadly bowling attacks.
Most of it was military medium pace and at times, some competent off-spin, but the absence of fast-bowler Kyle Jarvis – who has left Zimbabwe for a Kolpak deal in England - was evident.
Mushfiq came in to bat late in the second day when Najmul Hossain Shanto had been dismissed after looking well-set for a maiden Test century.
With the Zimbabwe bowlers all with their tails up, Mushfiq remained steady and calm on the face of the initial onslaught.
Remaining not-out with his captain Mominul Haque was the key and he did so till the end.
On the morning of the third day, things started to change as Mushfiq and Mominul started to grind out the Zimbabwe bowling and build towards a solid lead.
Mominul kept true to his word by scoring a century and Mushfiq also followed his captain's call and reached his.
When Mominul got out, and Mohammad Mithun came in, Mushfiq remained unperturbed at the other end, before Mithun was also dismissed.
Then came Liton Das, and Mushfiq built a steady partnership with him to take the lead past 250 as Liton started to play his shots and reach his fifty.
But as has been the case so many times, Liton had a brain fade and gave his wicket away but Mushfiq remained calm and composed.
The innings was chanceless almost apart from one moment late in the day where he defended a ball and it bounced hard off the surface and could have landed on his stumps, but Mushfiq jumped back and protected his wicket to ensure no damage was done.
The stats don't lie
Mushfiq's Test career average is 36.77 from 70 Tests with 4413 runs scored, making him the highest run-getter for Bangladesh in Tests.
The record was reached in this Test as he toppled Tamim Iqbal and it would not be far-fetched to call him the best batsman in the country right now.
He has also played the most number of Tests – 70 – and looks well set to become the first Bangladesh player to hit the coveted 100 Test mark.
The right-hander averages over 50 against two teams in Tests – India (51.80 average) and Zimbabwe (60.42 average).
His favourite country to play against away from home is Sri Lanka, where he averages 60.42 and it's the place where he scored his first Test double-ton.
2017 was his most prolific year with the bat as he scored 766 runs from 8 matches with an average of 54.71.
Mushfiq admits he can focus more on his batting now that he's not keeping
"I'm not getting any younger. It's the right time to focus on my batting more. I feel more relaxed when I'm fielding. The batting has been going well so far and I hope to continue in this way," Mushfiq said at the post-day press-conference.
"Having said that I have scored runs even when I was keeping. Staying behind the stumps helps because I can get a better idea about the wicket. I do miss keeping but I respect the decision that the team has taken," he added.
There are murmurs of Mushfiq rejoining the Bangladesh squad for the third leg of their Pakistan tour where they will play one ODI and another Test at Rawalpindi in April.
With Mushfiq hitting the form of his life, and with Shakib Al Hasan still serving his ban from international cricket, getting him back in the side should be a top priority for the board.