Drastic change in Nurul’s fate

Bangladesh wicket-keeper batsman Nurul Hasan Sohan was given the captaincy of the Twenty20 International side for the upcoming series in Zimbabwe, marking a drastic change in his fate.

Despite being on and off in the side, he will be the eighth man to lead Bangladesh in T20Is but will only be in charge for the Zimbabwe series.

Having made his debut in 2016, Nurul has played nine matches in the first two years of his international T20 career and made his comeback to the side following a gap of four years.

He was included in the T20 side again in July 2021 in Zimbabwe, and a year later, he will be going there as the skipper of the T20 side.

Since making his comeback, he has been a regular starter, featuring in 24 matches.

Undoubtedly Mushfiqur Rahim’s absence in the Australia series has helped his inclusion as the wicket-keeper in the side but now the board has rested their hopes on the 28-year-old to bring out a different brand of cricket for the Tigers side that lacks identity when it comes t the shortest format of the game.

He has played 33 times for the Tigers’ T20I side, scoring 271 runs at an average of 12.90.

Jalal has emphasised that it was Nurul’s leadership qualities and motivating spirit which prompted them to select him as captain in a side that has very few settled players.

“He has captained local teams. He has also captained in the Premier League and we have some leadership qualities in him. We believe that the leadership qualities are definitely there. He’s a proven player and aggressive. He is spirited and can motivate the team; we have discussed this with the selectors as well,” Jalal said on Friday.