Azad Majumder . Chittagong
Anyone who has never watched the Bangladesh cricket team batting in the nets would take Ashraful Hossain as just another net bowler, who was invited to assist the national players in their practice.
But to Mohammad Ashraful and his team-mates the 18-year-old Chittagong boy was just not an ordinary bowler. He was someone whom they wanted badly before starting the series against Sri Lanka.
The very similar action of Muttiah Muralitharan made Ashraful Hossain the star of the moment on Friday when he joined the net session and sent down a few deliveries that instantly attracted the attention of everyone present at the Chittagong Divisional Stadium.
‘We saw him first time when we came here to play against New Zealand. It would have been really nice if we could get him before the first Test but unfortunately that did not happen. Maybe we will take him to Dhaka now and keep him with us until the one-day series is over,’ said Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful.
Ashraful, who plays for local Sahjahan Smriti Sangha in the Chittagong league, claims he can bowl every delivery that has in Muralitharan’s repertoire excepting ‘the Doosra’ and he proved it time and again in the nets.
‘Even I can bowl doosra, but when I do that I cannot keep my action in place. I am practising hard,’ said Ashraful Hossain, a member of the Chittagong district under-19 team, who hopes to play for his division in the next season.
Ashraful was not alone, the Bangladesh team management invited another net bowler on Friday with an action similar to Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. And like the Bangladeshi version of Muralitharan, Harbhajan’s copy-bowler also gave the national batsmen a torrid time in the nets.
Coach Jamie Siddons keenly watched every batsman facing them and getting beaten repeatedly which must have made the Australian worried ahead of the second Test beginning on Saturday.
While Muralitharan still remains as a major threat for the hosts, Sri Lanka added Ajantha Mendis to the squad to make the life of Bangladeshi batsmen harder on a wicket that is expected to help the spinners.
The Tigers have faced Muralitharan in 10 Test matches and now also have got their own version of master spinner in the net, but about Mendis they were almost clueless.
Two Asia Cup matches in Pakistan last year are their only experience against the finger spinner.
‘Mushfique and Roqibul played him well in the Asia Cup and I just hope the other guys will take confidence from it,’ said Ashraful.
Sri Lanka did not confirm the inclusion of Mendis, who has just recovered from a serious ankle injury, but the way skipper Mahela Jayawardene and Mohammad Ashraful described the wicket, it is almost certain that he will play.
‘I had a day off yesterday (Wednesday), so I did not come; but other guys had a look at the wicket. They said it was similar to the wicket of the three-day game that we played at the BKSP,’ said Jayawardene.
The curator of the ground, Shafiul Alam, confirmed it will be the same wicket where New Zealand played in October and Bangladesh skipper Mohammad Ashraful agreed that it will not also behave differently.
Sakib al Hasan and Daniel Vettori took nine wickets each in the October Test and in the warm-up match at the BKSP Rangana Herath had completed his five-wicket haul before Muralitharan took the ball.
Naturally Sri Lanka are more enthusiastic than Bangladesh after seeing the wicket.
Courtesy: newagebd.com
