Oftentimes reality shapes the hardened professional, but it may also find the inundated lacking in clarity and unable to execute. As the Tigers go into the first match of the tri-nation series against Pakistan today, they will not have the experience of a Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim or a Mahmudullah Riyad.
But they will very much be looking forward to finding new gems from the batch selected for the tri-nation series and the T20 World Cup in Australia that follows the series.
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Overwhelmed or otherwise, the questions that will be asked in this series will be real. And answering them will go a long way to taking the team forward instead of backward.
Crucially, the Tigers do not have a tried and tested scheme at present. The opening pair experiment with Mehedi Hasan Miraz and Sabbir Rahman has not worked despite the former finding runs at the top in the Asia Cup and the series against the UAE.
Still heavily dependent on Liton Das and Afif Hossain in the batting front, the form shown by the likes of Yasir Ali, Mohammad Saifuddin and Najmul Hossain Shanto has reflected Bangladesh's struggles in the format. Even stand-by option Soumya Sarkar has not been firing on all cylinders.
When it comes to the team's approach, it is at the top where such questions of meritocracy and process will be put paid to if results do not match expectations. Skipper Shakib Al Hasan has gone about his natural game and his intent has seen him hold his place in the side while other seniors were found lacking.
But questions will be asked of him and how he can assume the leadership of a young side, especially after he was delayed by two days and could only join the team yesterday.
On the bowling side of things, Mustafizur Rahman and Saifuddin's struggles with the ball continue to prove a headache while Hasan Mahmud is still finding his feet in the international arena. Taskin Ahmed and Ebadot Hossain are yet to settle down in T20Is while Shoriful Islam, on standby, will be hoping to make a case.
The team is looking to find a new avenue in T20Is and if the seniors were found wanting by the demands of the time, the relatively younger stars have received messages about the expectations on them.
On the other hand, Pakistan's pace attack holds sway over most oppositions, especially in conditions that help faster bowlers. It is in batting where questions could be asked of Pakistan, with very little response coming from those behind Mohammad Rizwan and skipper Babar Azam.
A litmus test beckons as these two subcontinental teams look to find their feet in New Zealand and group together for the T20 World Cup.
