DHAKA, March 23, 2019 (BSS)- Bangladesh fast bowler Taskin Ahmed was such obsessed to play the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup that he even was not ready to think about his prolonged career for the time being.
Citing to make his presence available in the Bangladesh’s World Cup-bound squad as his dream, the speedster said the showcase event is his top priority at the moment as he is eying to recover from the injury fully.
He sustained an ankle injury during the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20 in which he claimed 22 wickets from 12 matches to be the second highest wicket-taker.
He has been probably the form of his life in BPL which forced his way back into the national team as Bangladesh announced a team for the series against New Zealand during the halfway through the BPL tournament.
However that unfortunate ankle injury in the last group match of BPL sidelined him for a couple of months and ruined his hope to thrive in New Zealand condition but he is not ready to give up the hopes of playing World up.
“To be honest I am giving the World Cup a top priority. Playing the showcase event is my dream,” Taskin said here today.
“I don’t know what will happen tomorrow when I will wake up in the morning from a sound sleep. So I am not thinking about that far (making the career longer). What is my main priority now is to be fit 100 percent and make myself available in the World Cup team.”
“I have played the 2015 World Cup. I know well what it means to play a World Cup. Whenever I recalled the memory of playing that World Cup, I became obsessed. There is another World Cup coming and I request all to keep me in their prayers.”
But to materialize the hope to play the World Cup, Taskin knows he has to prove his worth again since he has not been in cricket for a long time.
Currently he has been in rehab to recover from the ankle injury fully and eyes to make a comeback in the super league phase of the ongoing Dhaka Premier League (DPL).
“My condition is so far so good. I have started running and the intensity is increasing day by day. So far I am not feeling any pain. If the thing is going such smoothly, I hope I can start bowling very soon.”
“There is plan to start bowling in full rhythm in this month. Both I and physio want to make a comeback with the super league phase in DPL. But if everything is okay, I may comeback earlier than the super league phase.”
Before the World Cup, Bangladesh will play a tri-nation series in Ireland, which also involves West Indies and host Ireland.
If Taskin can start bowling during the DPL and replicate the performance of BPL, there is no doubt that he will make a comeback in that series.
Taskin admits, playing International match after long injury lay-off will be challenging but he is ready to grab the opportunity with both hands.
“Everyday is a challenging day for cricket. The reality is I haven’t been in the national team for almost one year due to various injuries. But I am motivated enough to play well,” he said.
What motivated him actually was the head coach Steve Rhodes and skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza’s attention on him as they regularly keep their eyes on Taskin’s fitness and injury status.
“When I fell to injury, the high ups of team management, coach, captain and senior players regular take a follow-up of my injury status and progress. When such personalities keep an eye on any player, definitely he will be motivated.”