Habibul Bashar has defended the way Bangladesh managed Nahid Rana, after a side strain ruled the fast bowler out of the Test series in Australia.
A breakthrough year cut short
Rana, 23, has taken 44 wickets this year across formats, including four five-wicket hauls. Known for raw pace and steep bounce, he was widely expected to lead Bangladesh’s attack in Australia. He had unsettled several batters during Australia’s ODI tour of Bangladesh and, earlier in the year, produced the best figures by a Bangladesh fast bowler against Zimbabwe.
Workload was monitored
Bashar said Bangladesh Cricket Board staff tracked Rana with GPS technology and that he stayed inside the agreed limits. The data, he explained, guides which matches and series each fast bowler plays. Rana missed some games during Australia’s June tour and was being managed with the Australia Tests in mind.
Selectors even rested him for the Test against Zimbabwe, but he hurt his side in the second T20I, having played the first two ODIs. Bashar said the ODIs mattered for World Cup preparation and that a fast bowler needs enough overs to stay match-ready. Resting him entirely was not realistic, he suggested, and the injury could just as easily have happened in Australia.
No outside pressure
Bashar rejected claims that anyone pushed for Rana’s inclusion in the Zimbabwe white-ball matches after Bangladesh’s Test defeat. He said the problem in that game was batting, not bowling, pointing out that Ebadot Hossain, Khaled Ahmed and Hasan Mahmud were available. Bangladesh’s batters struggled across the Test, ODI and T20I series, he said.
Losing to Zimbabwe was hard to take, Bashar admitted, and as a selector he accepts accountability and that criticism comes with the role.
