Sports Desk:

Bangladesh’s opening batter Shadman Islam played a noteworthy innings in his comeback Test match against Pakistan to lay the foundation of their maiden Test win after a long layoff from the national side. The left-handed batter played the anchor’s role on his way to 91that brought the game into the grip of the tourists. he revealed a lot of things that include his philosophy behind his batting and much more. Here are the excerpts:

Shadman, you scored 91 runs in the first match of your comeback series, how are you feeling now?

I am normal, because the time has not gone yet. I still have a lot of things to do. Everything is still left to do in life.

You were not in the national set up for two long years, what were you doing during that time?

I was thinking that whenever I get the chance I need to do a better performance. That’s how I was practicing and preparing, that’s all.

But when a player is in a national team and he suddenly disappears, that is a very depressing time for the player because you could use the bowling machine whenever you wished to when you were in the national team, so during that time (out of national team) what was the style of your preparation?

At that time, I tried to do something wherever I got a chance in camp and others, because you don’t get such chances always so I tried to keep myself ready from there (Camp) as much as possible. And I tried to grab as much as I could from the facilities I got in the camp.

That’s one thing but, in Bangladesh maximum of the time, white ball gets the priority, those who play purely red ball cricket or play more with the red ball, not much is thought about them, so later on when the Bangladesh Tigers camp happened, how much did it affect you?

Except Bangladesh Tigers camp, you don’t get the facilities or wicket in Dhaka where Test players like me who were out of the Tests, can practice on. That’s the truth. And you can’t make yourself ready by practicing or batting indoors. So, the two months this camp runs, that is when we get the chance, that’s how we can prepare ourselves. Apart from this, I don’t think you get the centre wicket much in Mirpur. So I tried that in the camp. And you get the centre wicket for some time during the national league, so you can practice during that time.

Let me tell you one thing, the batting style you have, you bat in the same process since the day you debuted till now. You and Zakir both have different styles of batting. So with whom you bat, he will be aggressive and he wants to charge from the first ball. And you want to tire the bowler. So what is the batting philosophy of both of you as an opening pair?

It’s about who can show his character on the field on his own way. The way I play, I always think that I will wait for the ball to come to the bat, and when my time comes then I will score my runs. And sometimes you have to push yourself, no one wants to bowl a bad bowl easily, so then I think I will need to play positive and push them so that they bowl a bad ball so, that’s what I have in my mind.

Yes, talking about this waiting, when do you play the shot, when the bowler is almost drained out and you’ve mentally destroyed him that, ‘No you can’t break through my defence’, that’s when you go after him, does this go through your mind?

Yes, this stays in mind that you can’t break through my defence, I always try to keep my defence intact, and they can’t break my defence. But I wait for the bad bowl.

Everyone thinks, it’s a big thing to hit a boundary, but when a bowler can’t break through your defence that affects him psychologically that whatever he is doing the opponent is defending, so do you think of this that when he realizes that your defence is really good then he will go on and try many things and then you will certainly get the loose balls?

Yes, true. This is always my plan that I will not go out of the basics, and always try that, the bowler will definitely bowl a loose ball, so I wait for that loose ball.  And even while practicing I try to keep my defence in control.

Now the opening is good for Bangladesh team, I mean the fight for the opening is good now, for example Joy used to play then there are you, I mean it doesn’t seem that there will be any problem if any opener is missing, how are you seeing this competition?

This is even better, that it is there even the players will wish to do better practice, and the more competition there is the better players we will get. If there is less competition then I don’t think that anyone will wish to do practice that much. Now everyone wishes to do well in the practice, to beat one another, when this is there then the cricket of the country will improve a lot.