Shoriful Islam enjoying a day out amidst the nature in Sylhet. Photo: Facebook
Bangladesh rode on to the young guns of the Under-19 World Cup winning team to clinch a scintillating two-wicket win over Afghanistan in the first T20I on Friday.
With the hosts under tremendous pressure at 64 for four following the departure of skipper Shakib Al Hasan, former under-19 teammates Towhid Hridoy and Shamim Hossain stitched a crucial 73-run fifth-wicket stand.
Even though Shamim was for 33 off 25, Hridoy remained calm till the end with an unbeaten 47-run-knock off 32 balls.
However, there was a twist in the tale as Bangladesh needed six runs to win in the final over before Karim Janat went on to pick up a hattrick.
It was then another member of the under-19 World Cup winning squad, Shoriful Islam, who struck the winning shot.
According to Shoriful, the seniors helped them, making it easy for the youngsters to gel.Â
“It feels great to play alongside Shakib bhai, Mushfiqur bhai, Taskin bhai for those who have come from the under-19 stage. I felt very proud when I first came to the national team and now, we are three from the under-19 squad in the current T20 team,” Shoriful said at a video message posted by Bangladesh Cricket Board on Saturday.
“We are almost like friends with the seniors and they made it easy for us, which is the reason it doesn’t affect whenever we are on the field. Since we are very close to Liton bhai and others, it makes easy for us as we share great bonding with each other,” added Shoriful.
The left-arm seamer was instrumental with the ball in the third ODI, picking up four wickets and the he showed his mettle in the first T20I, removing the dangerous Ibrahim Zadran upfront.
The cricketer from Panchagarh also shared how he managed to overcome the tough times after being sidelined from the national team early in his career due to injury and how Taskin Ahmed helped him by sharing his knowledge.
“When I started International cricket, it was going well but then I got injured and I was out for a while. I was able to make a comeback and Hathurusingha sir then joined us and he gave me few works. Taskin bhai also helped me on how to work in bad times and the areas to focus on even in good times. He always helps me whether it’s about the supplements on what will be good for the body and he always talks positive whenever we go to gym or swimming,” he said.
Shoriful informed that the bowlers are now getting opportunities to improve their batting skills in the nets and are willing to contribute whenever they get the opportunity.
“All the pace bowlers are now working on our batting in the nets. Taskin bhai, who used to bat like us in the past, now bats like a proper batter. So, we are now inspired from that and the pacers are now getting almost equal opportunity to bat in the nets so we are trying to utilise that. We are focusing on whatever training we are doing, so that we can replicate that in match situation to do something for the team,” Shoriful added.
