The rise of Bangladesh’s fast bowlers

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The fast bowlers of Bangladesh’s team have been making steady strides over the years. Ebadot Hossain played a key role in the victory over New Zealand that included dismantling a partnership between Ross Taylor and Will Young and dismissing 6 players for 37 runs to lead Bangladesh to an eight wicket victory.

Subsequently, Taskin Ahmed was instrumental in propelling Bangladesh to their first defeat of South Africa, after dismissing 5 players for 35 runs. Prior to this Bangladesh had lost all the 19 matches they had played in South Africa.

These performances are evidence of the hard work put in by Bangladesh’s fast bowlers over the past 2 years, which has included a transition from a culture of only spin bowling to a combination of spin and fast bowling. This is expected to pay off for Bangladesh at the T20 World Cup, as they are currently not in top form and have lost 12 of the 16 T20I matches they have played this year.

However, their fast bowlers have consistently performed well despite Taskin Ahmed’s temporary break due to injury, with Khaled Ahmed’s impressive performance in South Africa and West Indies, Shoriful Islam claiming the highest number of wickets across all formats, and Hasan Mahmud also demonstrating competitive performances.

Instrumental to Bangladesh’s fast bowling is head coach Russell Domingo, who has revived the style of delivery which Bangaldesh has adopted on and off through the years. Previously, ex-captain Mashrafe Mortaza had temporarily encouraged it with the rise of talent like Shahadat Hossain and TapashBasiya.

However, the next captain Mushfiqur Rahim signified a return to spin bowling, with the impact percolating to the domestic level. Ultimately, fast-bowling has revived under coach Domingo, helped by the emergence of talented bowlers like Ahmed and Hossain, and the increasingly influential role played by fast-bowlers in events such as the BCB President’s Cup, Bangabandhu Cup.

Bangladesh is now expected to lean on their fastbowlers to power their World Cup performance.