Nahid Rana has been ruled out of Bangladesh’s two-match Test tour of Australia with a Grade 2 side strain, leaving the visitors without one of their key fast bowlers ahead of their first Test in Australia in 23 years.
However, Bangladesh national selection panel chairman Habibul Bashar Sumon believes the team must look forward despite the absence of their express pacer.
Rana sustained the injury during the T20I series against Zimbabwe, sidelining the right-arm fast bowler for eight weeks. His absence is a major blow for Bangladesh, who had hoped to use his pace to trouble the Australian batters in the Tests in Darwin and Mackay, scheduled for August 12-16 and August 22-26 respectively.
Speaking at a press conference at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Monday, chief selector Sumon acknowledged how much Bangladesh would miss Rana in the upcoming series.
“You simply cannot understand how much we will miss Nahid Rana. Nahid Rana is a special bowler. I think if you look at any Test team, he would be a sensation and a special bowler. So, of course, we will feel his absence,” Sumon said.
Rana has been world’s leading wicket-taker in international cricket so far this year, underlining his importance to the team across formats. However, Sumon believes Bangladesh cannot afford to dwell on his absence.
He cited Australia’s experience during the last Ashes series, when Pat Cummins missed the first two Tests, as an example of how teams must move forward despite the absence of key players.
“When a player is unavailable, you have to move on. In the last Ashes series, Pat Cummins did not play, and Australia had to play without him. But they never said, ‘Our main bowler and captain is not playing.’ If your main bowler is unavailable, you cannot keep lamenting his absence and expect to move forward,” he said.
Bangladesh’s pace attack for the series is expected to feature Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Khaled Ahmed and Ebadot Hossain. With Rana unavailable, Sumon believes the team must put its faith in the bowlers who are available.
“So, definitely, there will be disappointment. But we do not want to remain stuck on that anymore. We want to look ahead,” he concluded.
