Bangladesh paceman Nazmul Hossain said it would be too much of a pain for him if he is needed another seven years to play a Test again after he was made to wait that long by the selectors for his second Test.
Nazmul was by far the best among the three pace bowlers Bangladesh picked for the ongoing second Test with his 2-51, which allowed the home side to keep the Pakistani batsmen in check.
He made his Test debut against India in 2004 and a 2-114 finish sent him into Test hibernation before he made his comeback with this Test match.
The right-arm medium pacer made his presence felt when he dismissed in-form Hafeez with the very first ball before he broke the resilience of Taufiq Umar with the second new ball.
Nazmul, known as the crisis man in Bangladesh cricket, thanked the Almighty Allah for his chance and then quipped: ‘If I play my third Test after seven years then my career would be over.’
The 24-year-old made his international debut for Bangladesh before he played any first-class matches, but could not play more than 36 one-dayers and two Test matches.
However, he has an uncanny habit of bringing good luck to the team as Bangladesh won most of the ODIs that he played and things looked nothing very different in this Test.
After a humiliating innings and 184-run defeat in Chittagong very few had expected Bangladesh to put up a fight in Dhaka, but with three days gone they are very much in the game.
The home side lead still Pakistan by 46 runs and the common perception is that if they do not bat terribly in the second innings it would be very difficult for them to lose the game.
Representing the Tigers at post third-day news conference, Nazmul, however, said they were not ready to think that far and were taking it day by day.
‘We are thinking day by day, not thinking too far ahead. We are hopeful of a positive result. If we are playing good cricket, that’s the success,’ said Nazmul, known for his Glenn McGrath-type accuracy, albeit with lesser pace.
-With New Age input
