Shadman says Bangladesh not thinking much about Rashid Khan

After a resounding Test debut, Shadman Islam is now eager to take his batting to the next level. The left-handed batsman is busy gearing up to face Afghanistan in the first Test of the new home season starting from September 5 at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.

Shadman, the 24-year-old batsman, believes Bangladesh are not losing their sleep thinking much about the spin attack of Afghanistan, who are admired all over the world for their variation.

“We’ve no special thinking about Rashid because we’re a regular Test-playing nation. There is a big difference between bowling in the shorter format and Test cricket. We play spinners better than many teams. So I believe, we’re not thinking much about Rashid or his colleagues,” Shadman told the reporters on Thursday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

“We play many world-class spinners during the Dhaka Premier League. But the Afghan spinners are slightly better than them. So if we play them with a bit of extra care, there will be no problem. We’ve to be careful about their variations. Rashid and Mohammad Nabi are capable of bowling for a long time keeping their variation,” he added.

Shadman got his Test cap last year against West Indies, and he struck a fifty in that match. The southpaw was facile in the middle as he always is in First-class cricket.

He has played 46 First-class matches till date and has accumulated 3299 runs at an average of 45.81 with seven centuries and 18 fifties. He is one of the batsmen who have been doing exceptionally well in the domestic circuit over the years. Due to his consistency, the selectors awarded him the Test cap when Tamim Iqbal was out of action last December.

Tamim is out of action again to rest from playing an excessive amount of cricket, and Shadman is again set to take the challenge to open the innings for the Tigers.

“I always try to play my natural game. I didn’t get the company of Tamim when I started my career back in last December. I opened the innings with Soumya. So I’m ready for it again. I’ll try to play as I always do,” Shadman also told the reporters.

The selectors are now busy to finalize the squad for the solitary Test against Afghanistan. Sources have confirmed that the team will be announced on August 30 or 31. After the Test, the Tigers will face Afghanistan and Zimbabwe in a tri-nation T20 series.