Sports Desk:

Bangladesh’s pace bowling coach Andre Adams insisted that he was not involved in the making of the team and as a result he was not aware why pacer Shoriful Islam did not get a chance in the playing eleven of the national squad during the just concluded ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

Shoriful, who was expected to guide the pace bowling unit during the global shorter-format tournament considering he was the most successful across-format bowler for the tourists leading up to the World Cup, sustained an injury during the warm-up game against India.

The pacer missed a couple of matches in the group stage, though he recovered sufficiently to make him available from 9 June. Bangladesh’s another young pace prodigy Tanzim Hasan Sakib seized the opportunity and bowled brilliantly to fill the slot of the third pacer in the team.

‘I don’t get involved in the make-up of the team’However, Shoriful’s non-selection during the game against India where Bangladesh played two pacers and dropped Taskin Ahmed raised quite a few eyebrows considering the eventual champions looked vulnerable in the previous game against Afghanistan’s pace unit led by Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Shoriful could also claim to be unlucky to miss out the game against Afghanistan as he was quite successful against the top-order of opponents in the recent past.

“I think Shoriful was very unlucky to get injured against India. He came back pretty well in that game. He started off a bit nervous and then bowled pretty well on the end and so he has been a good performer for us,” pace bowling coach Andre Adam told the Daily Sun recently.

“I don’t get involved in selection and so don’t know whether he would have played. I don’t get involved in the make-up of the team and my job is helping them bowl as well as they can. Given that he had been a performer of the past all of us expected him to play but getting injured was unlucky for him,” he added.

“Like all the bowlers he (Shoriful) got to understand the margins that he works within exposure to the big team would be key for him as well and yes he is a very gifted young man and he got something to get better at like every other bowler and he is obviously a very valuable team member and for us he is skilful as he swings and pick wicket at the top,” he further added.

The former New Zealand pacer, who was appointed by Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) as the pace bowling coach following the departure of Allan Donald after the last World Cup, insisted that he is impressed with the aggression of pacer Tanzim, who was a stand-out performer for the tourists in the T20 World Cup.

“I think he (Tanzim) did his job very well and we want him to take wickets at the top and he did that very well for us and he was aggressive and set the tone really well with his body language and his pace. As far as we are concerned, we are incredibly happy with Tanzim’s performance and the way he trained,” he said, adding that he was impressed with another two pacemen Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed as well.

“The way he led all three really as Taskin and Mustafizur was excellent and the trio they were amazing and they really kept us in games,” he said adding that he felt defining Mustafizur only as a slower and cutter bowler didn’t prove the worth of the left-arm pacer as a total package.

“I think any statement (that suggests Mustafizur is a slower and cutter bowler) undermines anything really. I think he is known for his slower balls and that’s his main threat, particularly on slower wickets of the IPL and that’s what he is known for but like you said his ability to do what is required is so impressive, ” said the coach.

“He (Mustafizur) figures out very quickly whether he needs to come round the wicket all bowl over and he is very confident with his field set and his plans and so and I think people see more of him than the whole package,” he added.

“Right now, he is known for his slower balls and that is not something completely unusual as people are known for something and people like to label. Bowlers for one thing what he good for and so and I think anything undermines what he does his performance speaks for itself,” he further added.

Adams added that they carried Taskin to USA despite knowing that he would not be available as they wanted their vice-captain to be welcomed in the group even if he was not playing for a certain amount of time.

“We made the decision to carry Taskin across and assess the injury and he was A grade player and obviously vice-captain and the main thing for us was making sure that he got included or welcomed and a really good rehab plan was set up by the medical team and then he followed that up with really good and once he was confident that he can bowl without too much pain and trying to understand what was required,” he said.

“Taskin was very good and every cricketer wants to feel at the top of the game all the time and but the reality is you are not going to just help his understand that he doesn’t need to feel amazing and he just needs to do what was required and he was willing and able for the task and very proud the way he stood up in this tournament and the way he led the bowlers in practice as well and he has been a huge asset,” he concluded.