“I watched Bangladesh fast bowlers bowling against Pakistan here – and the way they bowled in West Indies – and I think they have very skilful fast bowlers,” Javed said. “Especially Nahid Rana. He’s got height, and he’s got pace. Taskin is a very skilful bowler. Another one is Mustafiz, who is very experienced, and he’s got all the varieties. I’m glad even the Bangladeshi fast bowlers are coming good.”
This is likely the best seam-bowling unit Bangladesh have ever brought to a tournament, though their batters have scored too few runs to really give them a chance of imposing themselves. Perhaps, rain allowing, that can change on Thursday.
In fact, given Jasprit Bumrah is almost inarguably the best white-ball bowler in the world (though he is not playing this tournament), and Sri Lanka also has a pace battery that runs deeper than ever (though they are not playing in this tournament), this is the closest thing to a fast-bowling golden age South Asia has ever had.
Bangladesh assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin agreed that Bangladesh’s seam stocks were strong. Some of this is down to the country having switched to the Dukes ball in their first-class cricket over the last few seasons. The Dukes ball has a prouder seam that tends to last longer through the innings, which encourages fast bowling. Salahuddin was excited about the prospect of more Bangladesh quicks coming through the system into international cricket.
“We now have plenty of fast bowlers in Bangladesh who can perform at the international level,” he said. “We have youngsters coming up too. It is a good sign that our fast bowlers can dominate teams in these flat tracks. I feel Taskin, Rana and Mustafiz is our best bowling attack. They are learning, but, hopefully, one day they will dominate world cricket.”
Though Bangladesh, like Pakistan, have lost both matches so far and are out of the Champions Trophy, Salahuddin said there was plenty to be gained from the match.
“It is definitely a dead rubber since there’s no consequence for either team. But we are here to play a tournament, and this is our last match, so we want to see the players do well,” he said. “We have plenty of room for improvement, so we don’t want to repeat the mistakes from the previous matches. I think every match is important for the players. It might be a turning point for a particular player or even our team. This might be the end of this tournament, but the players have a future ahead of them.”
