Table of Contents
Nahid Rana, the young pacer from the Bangladesh National Cricket Team, has been ruled out of the upcoming Test series against Australia in Australia. Now Bangladesh chief selector Habibul Bashar has shared his views on Rana being ruled out of the series, as he has been a key player for the Bangla Tigers in recent months.
Habibul Bashar mentioned that the Bangla Tigers took extra care of the 23-year-old pacer so that he could be available for the Test series against the Aussies, but unfortunately, a side strain occurred ahead of the two-match Test series against the Kangaroos.
Habibul Bashar on Nahid Rana's unfortunate injury
Habibul Bashar stated that Nahid Rana was tracked through a GPS to measure his workload and everything, as it gave all the details of the pacer on how much he can play and whether he should be rested or not. Due to precautionary measures, the Bangla Tigers did not let him play in the recently concluded series against Zimbabwe.
"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."
"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."
Nahid Rana's recent form
Nahid Rana has been in sensational form this year, picking up 44 wickets, including four five-wicket hauls, as his combination of pace and bounce has troubled the batters across formats.
He performed well in the white-ball series against Australia and troubled the Australian batters during the ODI series in Dhaka in June this year. He picked four wickets in two matches against the Kangaroos in the 50-over format and picked just one wicket in two games in the T20I series.
Habibul Bashar unhappy with Bangladesh's poor batting in Zimbabwe series
Habibul Bashar stated that Rana had to bowl enough overs, and they cannot drop him as he has to bowl a certain number of overs to be match-fit; that was the reason he was dropped from the Zimbabwe tour. He also pointed out the flaws of Bangladesh batters as they failed to impress in a full tour against Zimbabwe.
"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."
