Playing his first international match in 12 months, Nasum put in an impressive all-round display to help Bangladesh level the series
Mohammad Isam10-Nov-2024Bangladesh’s 68-run win against Afghanistan in the second ODI, breaking a seven-match losing streak since September, was built on a string of individual performances. Of them, Nasum Ahmed, in particular, will feel a huge weight lifted off his shoulders after returning to the side following a 12-month gap.Nasum made a brisk 25 followed by bowling figures of 3 for 28 from 8.3 overs in his first international since the 2023 ODI World Cup – it has emerged recently that an incident involving Chandika Hathurusinghe might have kept Nasum out of the national team in this period. He hasn’t said anything about it, clearly saving his energy to make statements when given an opportunity. Like on Saturday.He stepped up at the right time for Bangladesh, who had their backs against the wall. They were 1-0 down in the series, having collapsed with the bat quite spectacularly in the first game on Wednesday.Related
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Nasum arrived at the crease with Bangladesh facing a familiar batting collapse. Left-arm spinner Nangeyalia Kharote had engineered a middle-order slide that saw them slip from 174 for 3 to 184 for 6 in 16 balls. Kharote removed Towhid Hridoy, and then got rid of Player-of-the-Match Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mahmudullah in one over.Debutant Jaker Ali and Nasum waited out almost four overs before launching five sixes between them. Nasum swung Kharote and AM Ghazanfar for his two sixes, while Jaker laid into Fazalhaq Farooqi, the pair taking 18 runs off the left-arm quick’s penultimate over. Jaker and Nasum added a vital 46 runs that kept Bangladesh in the hunt, before Jaker got them over the 250-run mark with a six off the last ball of the innings.”I think the way Jaker and Nasum batted in the last few overs made a difference in this game,” Shanto said afterwards. “Everyone showed a lot of character in our bowling and fielding. It was a difficult situation for us in the last few matches. Tests, T20Is and even the last ODI. Everyone had the belief and stuck to their processes. We talked about it in the first ODI, but I think we were committed to our process, which paid off in this game.”With the ball, too, Nasum made an instant impact. He removed the dangerous Sediqullah Atal with his first ball, although Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s’s leaping catch might have been the clincher there. Nasum, though, kept creating plenty of chances.
“It was difficult for him. I don’t want to bring the off-the-field issue here. A professional cricketer always focuses on the game. He was always part of the dressing room so he had no problem adjusting to the players. He showed a lot of courage. I really liked his approach”Najmul Hossain Shanto on Nasum Ahmed
He also removed Azmatullah Omarzai with the second ball of his second spell. This was the special left-arm spinner’s delivery, pitching on middle, spinning and hitting the top of off. Omarzai was left dumbstruck, trudging off for a golden duck. Rahmat Shah was run-out later in the over as Nasum built pressure with a very tight off-stump line. He rounded off Bangladesh’s win with Ghazanfar’s wicket in the 44th over. When you put the 25 runs and three wickets together, it adds up to a pretty good all-round showing.Especially for someone who was subject to speculation since November last year. Nasum was central in the controversy that ultimately led to Hathurusinghe’s removal as the Bangladesh head coach – Nasum was allegedly the cricketer that Hathurusinghe had “assaulted” during their World Cup game against New Zealand in Chennai last year.The then BCB dispensation had denied the incident. The investigation report was never made public. But when Faruque Ahmed was elected the BCB president in August this year, he led a second investigation. Last month, he announced Hathurusinghe’s suspension for two reasons, including the “assault”. Hathurusinghe questioned the BCB’s motive for his sacking, claiming that the player in question had never reported the incident to the team management.Nasum hasn’t spoken about the incident publicly, even after sections of the local media reported the incident.It has emerged recently that Chandika Hathurusinghe allegedly slapped Nasum Ahmed during the 2023 ODI World Cup•PTI “It was difficult for him. I don’t want to bring the off-the-field issue here – a professional cricketer always focuses on the game,” Shanto said of Nasum. “He was always part of the dressing room so he had no problem adjusting to the players. He showed a lot of courage. I really liked his approach.”It wasn’t a huge surprise to see Nasum back in the ODI XI when he was named for the three matches against Afghanistan. He had been regarded as Shakib Al Hasan’s white-ball understudy since making his debut in 2021, with some meaningful contributions with bat and ball.He came into this series with form behind him too. During his international absence, Nasum took 61 wickets at 24.04 in all formats. He took 14 wickets in his first two first-class matches after returning from the World Cup, followed by steady BPL and DPL campaigns. Nasum missed the ODIs against Sri Lanka in March, while Bangladesh banked heavily on Shakib and Mahedi Hasan in T20Is for the following few months.For a team that suffers from a dearth of skilled cricketers coming through the system, it was time for Nasum to return. He has responded strongly, and after missing a year of international cricket, the desire to do bigger and better must be burning.
