Bangladesh chief selector Habibul Bashar has expressed disappointment at the absence of fast bowler Nahid Rana from the upcoming two-Test series in Australia, describing the injury-enforced omission as a major setback. Nahid was ruled out of the tour after sustaining an injury during Bangladesh's recent series against Zimbabwe, where he was included as part of the preparations for the Australia assignment.
"Nahid Rana is undoubtedly a special bowler. It is a big regret not getting him. There are not many fast bowlers like him in world cricket," Bashar said in a press conference at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
"He is someone whose bowling everyone eagerly awaits. But we must also accept that Nahid will not be able to play all the matches." Despite the setback, Bashar said Bangladesh would focus on fielding the strongest possible combination from the available players.
"There is no chance of sitting on that if we don't get the best player. We have to try to build the best team with the ones we have now and do well," Bashar, also a former Bangladesh skipper insisted. "We have to move forward with Taskin, Hasan Mahmud, Khaled Ahmed and Ebadot Hossain."
The chief selector defended the team management against criticism over Nahid's injury, saying the pacer's workload had been carefully monitored through GPS-based data. "Now the workload of each fast bowler is calculated through GPS data. Not only bowling too much, but also bowling too little creates a risk," he said.
"So he needed to play the match. Unfortunately, he got injured. Such an injury could have happened in practice, it could have happened in Australia." He added that injuries remain an occupational hazard for fast bowlers despite advances in workload management. "The risk of injury to fast bowlers can never be completely eliminated. We can only try to reduce the risk as much as possible," he said.
Bashar said injuries to several key players also delayed the announcement of the Australia-bound squad, with selectors waiting until the final stages in the hope that some players would recover in time. "We wanted to finalize the team long ago. But the injuries of some important players at the last minute have had a big impact on our plans. We waited if at least someone could play one Test," he revealed. "But in sports, you can't always get the best XI. So we have formed the best possible team with those who are currently fit. We are hopeful of doing well with this team."
