T20 tri-series | Nervous, but a dream come true to play for my country, says Aminul Islam
Getty
Bangladesh’s new all-rounder Aminul Islam has admitted that although he was nervous, it was a dream come true to play for his country alongside his childhood heroes. Although better known for his batting, Aminul picked up two wickets with his leg-spin but suffered a hand injury in the match.
On his T20I debut against Zimbabwe on Wednesday, the teenager bowled a tight spell for four overs, conceding only 18 runs and picking up a couple of scalps, including that of skipper Hamilton Masakadza. The youngster cherished his debut match as Bangladesh beat the visitors by 39 runs to stay in the hunt in the T20 tri-series, which also includes Afghanistan.
"It is a dream for every player to play international cricket and I am feeling very proud as I could play with my childhood heroes. When I got the chance to bowl, I was a little bit nervous, but Shakib bhai told me to bowl the way I normally do. Later, Riyad bhai and Mushfiqur bhai also supported me and told me to bowl in the right areas," Aminul said, reported Cricbuzz.
The young prodigy, better known for his batting prowess, only has three and two scalps in List A and T20 games respectively. He plays for Krira Shikkha Protisthan in the Dhaka Premier League primarily as a batsman who bowls a bit of leg-spin. However, it was Simon Helmut, the head coach of the High-Performance Unit, who noticed his talent with the ball in hand.
"Actually, from the start of my career and while playing at age level groups, I used to bowl. There was a gap (when I couldn't bowl) as I had sustained a shoulder injury during the DPL and I stopped bowling. When I came to the High-Performance Unit, I started to bowl as my shoulder got better, and in the camp, Simon Helmut helped me with my bowling. Before that, I worked with Wahidul Gani and Sohel Sir. I take advice from both Wahid Sir and Sohel Sir to improve my bowling and try to follow their instructions," Aminul said.
The challenge for him is to improve on the promise he has shown, unlike other young leg-spinners from Bangladesh who faded away from the scene eventually. Meanwhile, his mentor, Sohel Islam, reckons that it is too early to make judgements on his protege.
"I think it is too early to judge him. To be honest, he is not a big turner of the ball, but what is encouraging is that he tries to maintain a very good line and length, and if he continues to do that, he can certainly go a long way,” Sohel told Cricbuzz.
"Earlier, he didn't have much of a build-up in momentum during his run to the crease, but as he isn't a big turner, he now rushes through with a quick-arm action and tries to bowl the right line and length,” Sohel added.
Despite a positive start, it turned out to be a bittersweet day for the youngster as he suffered a hand injury and looks set to be ruled out of Bangladesh's next game versus Afghanistan. During the ninth over of Zimbabwe's chase, Masakadza struck a delivery back at Aminul, who, in attempting to prevent a boundary, injured his left hand.
"There are three stitches on my hand, but I am feeling better now and the pain is much lesser. I will follow the physio's instructions," Aminul added.
