Bangladesh top-order batsman Imrul Kayes on Wednesday said that the forthcoming two-Test series against South Africa would be no less than a challenge for him as he was struggling with his current form in Test cricket. The left-handed batsman is on the verge of becoming the very few cricketers in the world to see his international career terminated at the same place where he made his Test debut back in 2008.
The 30-year old made his Test at Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein nine years back where he was unable to make it memorable scoring 10 and 4 runs respectively in both the innings.
The ground will host the second and last Test match between the Bangladesh and South Africa in the upcoming series from October 6 to 10 and the left-handed batsman would try to avoid such kind of unpleasing landmark.
The southpaw only managed a fifty plus score in his last nine Test innings against England in the home soil in 2016 and after that he could add just 92 runs in the last four Tests at an average of 11.5 only.
After the recent concluding Test series against the Aussies Imrul was criticised heavily for his poor performance with bat for scoring only 21 runs in four innings but the selectors reposed their faith on the experience campaigner in an important series in a country where the Tigers would be touring after nine years.
‘Actually this series is not an exception for me. It’s a challenge for me like every other series,’ Imrul told reporters at Sher-e Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.
‘I have taken it as a challenge and rest depends upon the Almighty. I will try to adapt and play well and I’m working hard for that.
‘Previous two Tests were tough for me. I couldn’t perform well in Sri Lanka after getting injured in South Africa (it was New Zealand). I think I was kind of unlucky, if I was not injured – the way I was going, my performance could have been better.
‘The way I played in the past, it was tough for me to continue after coming from the injury. I am well aware of that if I fail to perform well in one series it would create pressure for the next one.
‘I try to score in every series, sometimes I can score and sometimes I fail. In the rest of my career I will try to give my best otherwise it is tough to continue,’ he added.
Currently batted at number-three position, Imrul had also a bitter experience against the Proteas as the left-handed batsman could score 81 runs in six innings both in home and away conditions.
In the bouncy wickets like in South Africa, it might be more difficult for Imrul to enrich his track record against the host country but the left-hander was confident to adjust to the conditions before the series.
‘Everybody knows that South African tracks are bouncy in nature. Bowlers will try to ball in the backup length. During our vacation we practiced in the indoor, and this was the only place for the practice.
‘We will have three days to practice in South Africa and there will be a practice match too. This is the way we will try to adjust before the series,’ he added.
Opening batsman Soumya Sarkar, who also faced criticisms for his recent performances against Australia, was looking forward to forget the previous matches and was confident to execute his plan in the upcoming series.
‘It will be really exciting if we make some good results playing against them in their home condition. I’ll try to perform well and forget what I did in the previous matches,’ said the 24-yar old on Wednesday.
‘I had a plan in the Australia series but I could not execute the plan. I will try to be consistent to play well in the next series,’ he said.
-With New Age input
