Sabbir readies for the big stage

	Honing his all-round skills is one of Sabbir Rahman's main goals © AFP  Enlarge
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In a country where batsmen have been surprisingly shy of expressing themselves freely in Twenty20 cricket, Sabbir Rahman has stood out. However, it still took him nearly four years to convince everyone that his breakthrough innings - an 18-ball 33 against Afghanistan in the Asian Games final in 2010 - was going to give him a place in the Bangladesh side three years later, for a competition as important as the World T20.

During his innings in that match, Sabbir struck two sixes in the penultimate over when it looked like the gold was swinging Afghanistan's way. It was a low-profile game in terms of cricketing value but the encounter, Sabbir admitted, brought out the T20 player in him.

"That Afghanistan match gave birth to my T20 life," he said. "So since that day, I try to play according to the situation. Now whenever I get the opportunity, I will try to finish the game for Bangladesh in a similar fashion.

"Everyone thinks that I am only for T20s. I wish to climb from T20s to ODIs and then to Tests. I want to play in every format for Bangladesh. I don't have to change my basic game but I have to change my mindset a little."

He has not been consistent in T20s since that innings in November 2010, but last year he scored 710 runs for Bangladesh A, Barisal Burners, Prime Bank Cricket Club and Rajshahi Division, and was the second-highest run-getter in T20s in the country behind Anamul Haque.

During this time, he had a strike rate of 145.18 in eleven innings in the Bangladesh Premier League, the highest for an uncapped Bangladeshi batsman. When he made a 27-ball 40 against Chittagong Kings, it was after Brad Hodge had been dismissed, and in the space of the next seven overs, he took Barisal to a dominant position.

Late last year he scored three fifties in the Victory Day T20 Cup, helping Prime Bank clinch the trophy. Ahead of a World T20, and with the Bangladesh team short of anything remotely close to a specialist in the format, his skills were what the selectors and team management wanted.

He made his debut against Sri Lanka, walking in at 41 for 4 in the sixth over. He started off slowly and drew a bit of unwanted flak but the situation demanded him to bat at that pace. Sabbir said the criticism didn't affect him as he took his time at the start of the innings.

"Not many batsmen can just get to the middle and start finding boundaries," he said. "So I try to face a few balls, get my eye in and start playing my shots. If the situation demands quick runs, it is a different issue altogether.

"I am comfortable in the middle, especially in T20s, if I can get a boundary in the first four or five balls. I don't try too hard as that might put me on the backfoot. Later in the innings I try to cover the difference between run and balls, especially when I don't get fours and sixes early on."

Sabbir prefers hitting the ball in a straight arc between extra cover and wide midwicket, particularly against pace. He uses his feet a lot against spinners, also in a bid to clear the straight fielders but also swats at the ball whenever it is pitched short or flat.

"I think I can hit it clean. If it is in my zone, I try to take advantage of those deliveries. But if it isn't, I try to stay calm and wait for the right ball," he said.

He tried one slog against Nepal on Tuesday, but quickly ensured that Shakib Al Hasan, the better hitter in the middle, got more of the strike.

"Against Sri Lanka there was some pressure to make 120-130," he said. "The match yesterday was less pressure, the runs were scored so I didn't have to charge. But I will try to continue on my routine."

From an innings that could have been labelled a one-hit wonder, Sabbir has come a long way. He also has a few challenges to prepare himself for, particularly once Bangladesh make it to the second round of the World T20, where he will face strong bowling attacks. But a doughty spirit is Sabbir's trait, evident in the way he started playing cricket.

"Back home in Rajshahi, my coach Rashid bhai took me around everywhere as a fielder, in the neighbourhood matches," he said. "Once I took a great catch, and it caught everyone's eye.

"I was about 12-13 years old at the time when I went to being a spinner, from being a fielder. They took me to Dhaka where I played in the age-group Helvetia Cup for Brothers Union. I did well there so I was called up for U-13s where I struck 151, which turned me into a batsman. Now I want to be a good allrounder."

Mortaza in race to get fit for World T20

Mashrafe Mortaza is in a race against time to get fit ahead of Bangladesh's World T20 opener against Afghanistan on Sunday. He is recovering from a side strain sustained during the Asia Cup game against India two weeks ago.

With very few decent replacements to choose from and Bangladesh's attack already being rather one-dimensional, there will be a lot of hopes pinned on him recovering. Mortaza is not a great T20 bowler, in fact he has done poorly in the first six overs more often than not. But he provides inspiration: he is often injured but always comes across as giving his all; he is an intelligent presence among the bowlers, and a good sounding board for captain Mushfiqur Rahim.

Though Bangladesh's T20 bowling has been dismal in general, they put in an encouraging performance on their last T20 appearance, against Sri Lanka. Dew hampered the bowlers as they defended at total of 120 but Mortaza, as stand-in captain, led the attack ably, mixing up his bowlers to good effect. He gave every bowler one or two-over spells, ensuring none of the Sri Lanka batsmen settled against a particular bowler. Although Bangladesh lost off a last-ball boundary - it was also Mortaza's decision to ask Farhad Reza to bowl a bouncer on that delivery - it was the sort of game plan that looked effective for the bowling attack.

Whether Mushfiqur will take a similar approach is debatable, but he will be very happy should he have Mortaza's experience to fall back on against Afghanistan on March 16, in a match that is a potential banana-skin for the home side.

Mortaza's recovery is shaping up positively. Two days ago, he was reported to have been injected with cortisone to ease the pain. It did the job, and he underwent a fitness test on Tuesday, in front of Bangladesh's physio Vibhav Singh, who said he was improving every day. He has another fitness test in the next two days, and might also bowl a few overs in the warm-up game against UAE, in Fatullah on Wednesday.

"Today I am feeling better than before," Mortaza said on Tuesday. "I have bowled ten overs each in the last three days, in the nets. I have been feeling better than before. The pain is much less than the day I got hurt. I had a fitness test yesterday, where I bowled five overs. Today I bowled five overs at 80%."

However, should Mortaza not hit 100% in time, Bangladesh have trouble at the top of their bowling innings. Their biggest issue is that their overall best bowler, Shakib Al Hasan, is also their best bowler in the first six overs in T20s. He goes at 5.85 during these overs but because of his importance in the middle-overs, he has bowled less during the fielding restrictions than Mortaza and Abdur Razzak.

Mortaza has been Bangladesh's highest wicket-taker in Powerplay overs, but given his injury history and the resultant drop in pace, he could be in need of fielding protection even if he does play.

Al-Amin Hossain can be an option for Mushfiqur, having done well during the Powerplay overs in his only T20 international appearance. Though this is too small a sample size to label Al-Amin an early-overs specialist, he could be worth the risk as Rubel Hossain has taken two wickets and gone at 8.16 per over in seven innings bowled during the Powerplay. Offspinner Sohag Gazi could be another option, but then he has to bowl at a straighter line to both left-hand and right-hand batsmen, with very little margin to err in length too.

It is clear that the bowling form of Rubel, Razzak and Gazi will be vital in ensuring Shakib and Mortaza - should he play - get the best cover. Mahmudullah and Reza can come in handy, but they are Mushfiqur's second-choice attack. If they have to play without Mortaza, Shakib will have to be used prudently.

Of course, it would greatly help if one bowler stood up and grabbed a cluster of wickets. Mortaza feels that such a spark will be necessary at crucial moments during the World T20. "In the last five years, we haven't taken four or five-wicket hauls regularly," he said. "We have had to make do with combined performances.

"In an important moment, we need someone to click. We miss those performances. We have worked really hard in practice but for some reason it doesn't happen. It might be because of confidence or some other reason. I still believe that if we try hard, we will somehow go for it."

His situation is eerily similar to that in the lead-up to the 2011 World Cup. Then, he injured his knee in a league game a few weeks before the squad announcement deadline, and though he recovered somewhat, he was left out, much to his disappointment.

Recalling that setback, Mortaza said: "To be honest, it felt worse to miss the 2011 World Cup. It was the bigger tournament. But since the World T20s is being played in the backdrop of 200 million people's expectation, I want to play well, and give my 100%. I have my pride when I play for Bangladesh."