Taskin rues Nahid's absence ahead of Australia Tests

Bangladesh pace bowler Taskin Ahmed said on Monday (August 10) that they are going to miss Nahid Rana in the two-match Test series as he feels the speedster could have made a difference against the hosts.

The tourists received a huge blow ahead of the series as their leading pacer Rana was ruled out due to a side strain. Their problems were compounded further as another pacer Shoriful Islam was ruled out of the first Test due to a hamstring injury and his participation in the second Test will depend on him passing a fitness test.

“Nahid Rana is a big threat nowadays in world cricket. Unfortunately, he got injured,” Taskin said ahead of the first Test in Darwin. The experienced pacer acknowledged that Bangladesh would have been a different proposition with both Rana and Shoriful available but believes their absence provides an opportunity for the other bowlers to make their mark.

“If they were there, Rana and Shoriful, it might be different, but still, we are hoping to do well,” he said. Taskin, who is expected to shoulder a significant share of the bowling responsibility in the absence of the two pacers, insisted that the bowlers available in the squad should take this opportunity to make a mark of their own.

“It’s a great opportunity for the bowlers playing in Australia,” he said. Taskin added that they are taking inspiration from their ODI series win over Australia earlier this year as it was played on sporting wickets. “That was a really great series for us, especially because traditionally in Mirpur, it used to be a turning and slow wicket, but the last series was pretty sporting conditions. So, we all played a good series and we won against Australia,” said Taskin.

“That's giving us really good confidence to play against them. But still, home and away, there is a big difference,” he noted.

Taskin added that though they are disappointed after losing the practise game against Cricket Australia XI, they will be benefited due to the experience they managed to gather from the fixture. Bangladesh were humbled by an innings and 38 runs in their lone practice game against Cricket Australia XI.

“That wasn't a great feeling after losing against Cricket Australia XI, that practice game. But it happens in cricket. So far, we are also still trying to adjust to the condition and pitches quickly. So that was good preparation, but we lost though. Still, we are hoping to do well in the main match,” said Taskin adding that they are not losing their head over making plans for Travis Head.

“No doubt he (Travis) is one of the best batters in the world, but still it's a game of bat and ball. I'm going to follow my process like I have been doing last few years,” said Taskin.

“It won't be easy, but still I can't do anything more than that. I'll stick to my process, and let's see how it goes. It depends on the condition and how the pitch is behaving. But still definitely, we will come with a plan for every batter, it totally depends on the execution, how we execute on the ground. And also, we have to play really good cricket to compete with them,” he concluded.

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