‘Tamim is on the right path’

Bangladesh star Mahmudullah Riyad had recently been back to bowling with his regular action after suffering from a shoulder injury since the Ireland tour before the World Cup. He talked about his bowling and also talked about facing national teammate Tamim Iqbal in the National Cricket League (NCL) match.

The right-arm off-spinner has always worked to hone his skills with the ball and picked up six wickets in the drawn NCL four-day match against Chittagong Division while playing for Dhaka Metropolis.

Riyad, who was awarded the player of the match, said that he was relieved to have been able to go through his overs without complications. "Alhamdulillah I was able to become the man-of-the-match in the NCL after a long period.

"I was carrying an injury and couldn't bowl for seven months. So I was really looking forward to bowl. I am relieved that I could do it and the bowling practice went well. I wanted to bowl as many overs as possible. That was my focus," Riyad said.

"I always want to bowl since it gives an added advantage or confidence when I bat," he added.

He also struck 63 runs in the first innings and although he would have liked to score more, he said that the pitch had something for the bowlers throughout the four days.

"If I could reach three-digit numbers, it would have been better. I tried to do that as well. The pitch had something for the bowlers on day 2 or 3 as well. I think I scored 2 runs from the first 30 or 40 deliveries I faced. I wanted to remain at the crease so I could take advantage later.

Mahmudullah Riyad with the player of the match award. Photo: Firoz Ahmed

Riyad dismissed national teammate Tamim Iqbal in both innings and said that Tamim was in a good rhythm while all the national team players were trying their best to score runs. Tamim struck 30 in the first innings before hitting 46 in the second innings. With the India series coming up, the national team players need to be tuned to the longest format of the game and Riyad acknowledged that the players needed to work hard to find some form.

"Everyone is trying. Maybe some scored while others didn't. I hope that the ones who didn't score runs will give extra effort to do well in the second round and bring up their confidence levels," Riyad said.

"Tamim was batting quite well. I think he is working really hard. Maybe he didn't score big but looking at his rhythm, I felt that he was batting really well. You all know that he has been working very hard for the last few months on his fitness and his batting," Riyad said of his national teammate Tamim, who has been out of form for a while ever since the start of the World Cup in England.

"He is on the right path and I think he will be able to sort things out quickly," Riyad said.