BENGALURU: In an almost empty M Chinnaswamy stadium, on Thursday, in a bright white kit, Taskin Ahmed makes a quick stop during his run-up. The Bangladesh speedster checks his ankle protection bracelet and goes back to his mark to start again. While the situation may make people worry about a possible injury, for some time now, Ahmed is accustomed to his new gear. He feels uncomfortable with it but that’s the price he is willing to pay to keep his ankle in the best shape possible.
Ahmed bowled 43 overs wearing that and scalped seven wickets (2/47 and 5/91) against Dr DY Patil Cricket Academy in the Dr (Capt) K Thimmappiah Memorial Tournament match for Bangladesh Cricket Board XI. In the last two years, Ahmed has been injured five times – seven stitches in the right hand, side strain twice, lowerback disc injury and a torn ligament in the ankle. Before that, in 2016, he lost about six months of cricket after being suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for illegal bowling action. He has been in and out of the Bangladesh team since.
The last time he featured for the Tigers was back in March 2018 in a T20I against Sri Lanka. This year, the 24-year-old was off to a good start, bagging 22 wickets in 12 matches in the Bangladesh Premier League but a torn ligament in the ankle meant the once most promising pacer, who could bowl consistently at 149kmph, missed the bus for New Zealand tour. Ahmed didn’t get the nod for World Cup but has been picked in the upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka.
“It has been really challenging and hard on me. When I came back after a long rehab and got my rhythm back, I got injured again. I had put a huge effort to be fit before the World Cup but selectors said I wasn’t at my 100 per cent,” says Ahmed. Though he was not picked in the original contingent for Sri Lanka, the selectors decided to include him in the revised squad which was announced on Friday. For Bangladesh, Mashrafe Mortaza and Mustafizur Rahman have been the first-choice pacers and Rubel Hossain has done well as their third option.
Besides, Mohammad Saifuddin and Soumya Sarkar have been filling in as other seam bowling options. Ahmed knows that he has to work hard to keep his place in the team. The youngster is working on keeping himself fit while also improving his bowling, given there is not much cricket left in Mortaza. “What I can do is improve. Now, I am very cautious about my body.
I am giving extra time to fitness and working with my personal trainer. I have also been doing extra bowling sessions and I have improved my skills too,” says Ahmed. “Now, I’m able to control my bowling better. The fact is that the more I bowl the better I get. I’m very happy that in the last two weeks, I have bowled over 100 overs. That way, I am getting better every day and the rhythm is also coming back gradually. Now, I am confident that I will do well.”