Since the last edition of the Bangladesh Premier League, Shoriful Islam’s partnership with the new ball has looked like a match made in heaven. With a slight tweak in his bowling tactics, the left-arm pacer has become increasingly difficult to handle. He now focuses on hitting a hard length consistently while mixing in pace variations. That approach earned him the Player of the Tournament award in the last BPL, where he claimed 26 wickets.
Fast forward to 2 May 2026 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. In the series decider of the three-match T20I series between Bangladesh and New Zealand, Shoriful once again produced a fiery spell. Despite Bangladesh being bundled out for 102 in a rain-interrupted match reduced to 15 overs, Shoriful showed no signs of easing up.
Defending a low total, skipper Litton Das entrusted Shoriful with the new ball in the second over. It did not take him long to make an impact. On just his second delivery, a trademark Shoriful ball on a hard length induced an outside edge from Katene Clarke, which was safely taken by Litton Das behind the stumps. Shoriful was all over the opposition.
On the very last ball of that over, Dane Cleaver, another right-hander, fell victim to Shoriful’s accuracy. He struck the deck hard as usual, and Cleaver, stepping out to counter a middle-off line delivery, ended up edging it once again to the wicketkeeper. The on-field umpire did not raise his finger, but replays confirmed a clear spike on UltraEdge as the ball passed the bat.
Tim Robinson, who was leading New Zealand’s chase, then attempted to take Shoriful on by coming down the track. However, he missed the line completely and saw his stumps disturbed as Shoriful claimed his third wicket.
Shoriful finished his third over with figures of 3-0-19-3 after starting with 2-0-4-3. Bevon Jacobs later struck him for two boundaries, while Dean Foxcroft added another, but the early damage had already been done.
Despite Shoriful’s efforts, Bangladesh lost the match by six wickets as New Zealand levelled the series 1-1. However, the nature of his bowling once again told the story. He consistently targeted the good length area, knowing the ball would come back into the right-handed batters. All three of his wickets in the match were right-handers.
This was not the first time Shoriful had made headlines on the tour. He was drafted into the playing XI in place of Mustafizur Rahman, who suffered discomfort just before the toss in the series opener of the three-match ODI series against New Zealand.
Shoriful, who was not originally expected to play, made a return to ODI cricket after 16 months and delivered a superb spell of 10-2-27-2, including 42 dot balls. However, it was not just the figures that stood out. It was his control and intelligence that restricted the Kiwi batters throughout the innings. While Taskin Ahmed and Nahid Rana relied on raw pace and bounce, Shoriful mixed his lengths expertly, sometimes pulling back and sometimes pushing forward, constantly keeping the batters guessing.
New Zealand stand-in captain Nick Kelly praised Shoriful after the match, describing him as a world-class bowler.
“Yeah, we know his class. He’s been bowling well all series. He’s definitely been the pick of their bowlers. He’s been consistent throughout the five games we’ve played,” Kelly said.
He also admitted the pressure Shoriful created during the innings. “I definitely felt when I came out that it was the back end of his over and I just thought I’ll absorb these balls and look to finish out his over and try not to take too many risks. But yeah, he’s a world-class bowler and he definitely bowled very well throughout the whole tour.”
While Litton said, “Shoriful was bowling really well. One more wicket could have put them under pressure. We did not have enough runs on the board, so wickets were crucial. Cricket is all about taking risks. We took it, but it did not work.”
