Home ›› 28 Nov 2021 ›› Sport
On Saturday night, Yasir Ali Chowdhury might have gone to bed with a mixed feeling of ecstasy and agony. He had finally made his way into the Bangladesh XI, but that ended as a sorry affair for the homeboy.
It was the end of a long wait of 956 days for the right-handed batsman from Chattogram to appear for Bangladesh since his call-up for any senior-level national team for the first time in 2019 for the Ireland tour.
But Yasir’s first innings for the national team lasted only for 26 minutes, where he faced 19 balls and played a glorious cover drive against Shaheen Shah Afridi.
He survived four more balls without scoring and then found his stumps cartwheeling as an inswinger from Hasan Ali went through his defence to dismiss him for only four runs in his first international affair.
Bangladesh, after being in a good position at the close of play on day one, faltered again in the first session of day two and the departure of Yasir put them in more trouble, from which the Tigers could not recover.
Yasir must’ve experienced the ecstasy of batting for the Bangladesh national team for the first time and soon he experienced the agony of being completely gutted after his defence was breached and stumps rattled.
The feelings are almost the same for Yasir’s father, Showkat Ali Chowdhury, and the cricketer’s childhood mentor, Mortuza Raihan, who watched the right-handed batsman make his debut on home ground.
Showkat, who lives in the Parcival Hill area of Chattogram, told The Business Post that he is both happy and sad about his son’s first international appearance.
“I am very happy and proud because he has been working very hard on his game for the last 20 years. Cricket is his lifeline. But at the same time, I also feel sad for him as he could not score much,” he said.
Yasir was in and around the team for quite some time but was not picked for the playing XI. Rather, he served as the 12th man for a couple of matches.
Showkat is happy that finally, his son’s wait is over.
“I am happy for him that finally, his waiting is over. For the last year or so, we didn’t even talk about when he could debut for the national team. I could realise that he was feeling very frustrated during that time. But whatever happens, happens for a reason. Finally, he made his debut at Chattogram, his home town. Hopefully, he will do better in the second innings and all the upcoming matches he plays for Bangladesh,” said Yasir’s father.
Showkat also said that neither he nor his wife came to the stadium to see their son play for the first time in the national team because they felt very tense, but both of them watched the game on TV at home.
Mortuza Raihan remembers a small chubby boy who came to learn cricket at his Bright Cricket Academy in Chattogram.
“I remember Yasir from the first moment I saw him. He came with his father when he was only three or four years old. He was a bit healthy from his childhood, but that did not impact his game. He trained under me for a long time before I left the country for Malaysia, where I did some coaching job,” Raihan told The Business Post.
Mortuza feels that Yasir was looking good, but the delivery from Hasan Ali was too hot to handle.
“He was looking confident throughout the 18 deliveries he played before facing that ball from Hasan Ali. I think the delivery was also very good. He was not prepared for such a good delivery,” he told TBP.
Both Yasir’s father and mentor are now hoping that he will play a good knock in the second innings of Bangladesh that will help the team and make his first appearance memorable.
