Bangladesh is currently touring South Africa and the two teams are battling against each other in the Test series. South Africa defeated Bangladesh in the first Test by a big margin of 220 runs. The action for the series has now shifted to Port Elizabeth, the venue for the second Test match.
The Proteas batted first in the match and put up a total of 453 runs on the board. The pick of the bowlers for Bangladesh was Taijul Islam, who picked up 6 wickets for 135 runs from his 50 overs. The spell from the left-arm orthodox spinner has earned him accolades from the cricketing fraternity. He stepped in to replace the injured pacer, Taskin Ahmed and filled his shoes quite competently.
Notably, Islam is not a regular member of the first eleven for Bangladesh as the all-rounder, Shakib Al Hasan often plays the role of the left-arm spinner. As he was ready to join his team in South Africa, he was asked about how he is looking to fill the big shoes of Shakib Al Hasan in a press meet in Dhaka. This irritated the 30-year-old spinner as he felt that the comparison was unnecessary at the time.
“Don’t you have any other question to ask me apart from it? Probably adding Shakib bhai’s name is more saleable,â€- replied Taijul.
Meanwhile, the chief selector of the Bangladesh team Minhajul Abedin has revealed that the strategy of Bangladesh to go with three pace bowlers is not the reason for the exclusion of Taijul. In an interview with Cricbuzz, he said that he feels if Mehidy Hasan can be used as a number 7 batter then Taijul Islam could play more regularly in overseas conditions.
