Sakib al Hasan had a five-wicket haul in the last Test match against Sri Lanka, but could not recall the feat on his return to Test cricket on Saturday against Zimbabwe.
One cannot blame him, as in the last eight months he had so many ups and downs in his life, that it was very easy to forget his five-wicket haul against the islanders.To the eyes of some cricket officials and his countless fans, he became a villain overnight as they observed a serious lapse in his behaviour that earned him a six-month ban by the Bangladesh Cricket Board.
But his ban was cut short after he promised to behave and transform himself into a completely different person.
Sakib’s change in personality did not influence his game as he remained the same player he used to be. And, there was no better evidence than his 6-59 against Zimbabwe on Saturday.
Champion cricketers always tend to do something special when the chips are down and Sakib did exactly the same thing to erase his agony of the last few months.
‘When I saw the fans cheering me before I came to bowl, I forgot everything,’ said Sakib. ‘All the other feelings that concerned me disappeared.
‘I am very lucky to get this support and hopefully this will continue.
‘If I can play for the team and continue playing for the supporters I think that this will be the biggest thing for me,’ said Sakib, who thanked his well-wishers for extending their support during his bad days.
‘There is no denying that I passed some hard times during those two-three months,’ said Sakib.
‘But I won’t say this is a comeback series for me, because I did not feel that I returned after a long break or after keeping behind a lot of things,’ he added.
04‘I got a lot of support and prayers from unknown people. People supported me through SMS during that crucial time,’ said Sakib.
‘If you compare the negatives and positives, I think the negatives hardly inspired me.
His five-wicket haul against Zimbabwe means Sakib claimed this feat against all other Test playing nations except Australia. The left-arm spinner said that he will try to complete the circle if he gets a chance against the Aussies.
‘I’m taking this achievement well, obviously. But there are no special feelings for this. Perhaps, I will feel that, if I can play against Australia the next time and get a five-wicket haul,’ he said.
‘Perhaps, I will feel good at the end of my career if I can earn that achievement,’ said Sakib, who was relieved to see at least two other attacking spinners in the line-up who shared some of his burden.
Debutant leg-spinner Jubair Hossain grabbed 2-58 and left-arm spinner Taijul Islam provided a crucial breakthrough as Bangladesh dismissed Zimbabwe for 240 on the opening day of the Test.
‘This is actually a big deal,’ he said.
‘If there are two or three attacking bowlers in the team then it’s not only good for the bowlers but also for the whole team.’
-With New Age input
