Fast bowler Rubel Hossain wants another chance to prove his mettle in the longest format of the game by earning a place in the Tiger’s Sri Lanka bound squad for the three-Test series scheduled to begin in late October.
Rubel, who has been a catalyst in many of the national team’s biggest triumphs in shorter formats, has been largely inconsistent in red-ball cricket.
Getting his Test cap in 2009, in the past 11 years Rubel has featured in 27 Tests with only 36 wickets beside his name followed by a poor average and strike rate.
The 30 year-old pacer last featured in the Rawalpindi Test against Pakistan in February, almost two years after his previous Test appearance against West Indies in 2018 and claimed three wickets in Bangladesh’s only bowling innings of the match.
Due to his sub-par record and a number of young prospects emerging, Rubel’s days in Test cricket seemed numbered.
But due to the cricketing shutdown in Bangladesh since March, the selectors were facing a tough call to pick the side for the Sri Lanka series and said that they will most likely rely on experienced players who have been part of the side in recent times, opening up a window of opportunity for Rubel.
‘We are hopeful about our upcoming Sri Lanka tour, which will end our long barren days. I am focusing on the Sri Lanka series, my target will be to firstly get a spot in the squad and after that if I am picked in the playing team, I hope I can deliver my best,’ Rubel told media through a video message on Sunday.
‘I am carrying on my practice keeping that in mind. I am working on how I can become fitter, more skillful. My full attention is now towards the Sri Lanka series,’ he added.
Rubel joined the individual training session late whereas his competitors for the pacers spot in the national team like Ebadot Hossain, Khaled Ahmed, Shafiul Islam and Abu Jayed had started much earlier.
Rubel, who is now training at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, claimed that he was working on his fitness even before joining the training session but admitted that he was still rusty in terms of bowling.
‘After the deadly virus broke out, most cricketers headed for their hometown. I also went to Bagerhat. I arrived in Dhaka two-three days ago and have been training in Mirpur for one-two days. In Bagerhat, I used to run across the sands of riverbank for fitness training but did not had enough facilities for bowling,’ he said.
‘As I could not work on my bowling in Bagerhat, I am working on my bowling here at mirpur, also carrying out the fitness training,’ he added. -new age
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