Chief selector Habibul Bashar Sumon admitted on Monday that losing Nahid Rana for the upcoming Test series against Australia is a major setback for Bangladesh, but insisted that the team must move forward with the players available rather than dwell on the absence of their premier fast bowler.
Rana was ruled out of the two-match series after suffering a side strain during the second T20 International against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, leaving Bangladesh without one of their biggest weapons for their first Test tour of Australia in 23 years.
Bashar described the 23-year-old as a rare talent in world cricket, saying that there are very few bowlers capable of consistently bowling at the pace Rana unleashes.
“If you look at world cricket, there is a gap between Nahid Rana and most other fast bowlers. Probably Nahid Rana and Mitchell Starc are among the few bowlers who consistently bowl at extremely high pace. They are extraordinary bowlers. It is not just us—I think the entire cricket world is excited by Nahid Rana. Missing him is obviously a huge blow for us, and I believe cricket fans everywhere want to watch Nahid Rana bowl,” Bashar said.
The chief selector acknowledged the disappointment of both the team and the player but stressed that injuries are part of the game and Bangladesh cannot afford to remain focused on what they have lost.
“You probably cannot understand Nahid Rana’s disappointment. Nahid Rana is a special bowler. He is a special bowler, and I think he would be a sensation in any Test team. So naturally, we will feel his absence. But when he is unavailable, we have to move on. In the last Ashes series, Pat Cummins did not play, and Australia still had to compete without him. They did not keep saying that their captain and main bowler was unavailable,” he said.
The former national captain added that every team has to find a way to cope with injuries and Bangladesh are no different.
“Similarly, if your leading fast bowler is unavailable, you cannot keep regretting it forever because then you cannot move forward. I believe in the bowlers we have. Look, Taskin is a fantastic bowler when he is fit. Everyone has seen what Hasan Mahmud can do. If those two remain fit and perform well, and with Khaled Ahmed, who has also done well, and Ebadot Hossain, who has delivered in the past, we have a capable pace attack. So these are the bowlers we have to move forward with. Naturally, there will always be regret over Nahid’s absence, but we do not want to dwell on it anymore. We want to look ahead,” he urged.
While accepting that Rana’s absence significantly weakens Bangladesh’s attack, Bashar expressed confidence that the remaining pace bowlers have already shown they can deliver at the highest level.
“Someone has to take responsibility. When we beat Pakistan in Pakistan in the Test series, I think Nahid Rana played, but Hasan Mahmud was our main bowler and bowled exceptionally well. So we still have Hasan Mahmud, and we also have Taskin Ahmed,” he said.
Bashar reiterated that Bangladesh had no option but to accept the reality of Nahid’s injury and focus on the challenge ahead.
“But we also have to accept that Nahid Rana cannot play every match. We have to move forward with that reality. There is no doubt that his absence is a major setback, especially considering the way Australia have prepared for this series. Whether he is available or not certainly makes a big difference. But as I said earlier, if I do not have my best player, I do not want to sit and dwell on it because we are going into a series. I believe the players I have now are the best available, and we have to do our best with them,” he added.
