Rookie Rana wants to bowl ‘as fast as possible’

Bangladesh pacer Nahid Rana, known for consistently clocking in excess of 140 km/h, admitted of being fixated on bowling fast.

The 21-year-old, who received his maiden call-up to the Bangladesh squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka, starting on Friday in Sylhet, had caught everyone's attention last year in the Bangladesh Premier League when the right-arm pacer was repeatedly seen registering speeds north of 145 km/h for Khulna Tigers.

"I want to bowl as fast as possible. I want to maintain my line and length also. Besides, another strength of mine is giving bouncers. That effort will be there if I get the chance," Rana told The Daily Star yesterday.

"It comes naturally to me. That's how I prepare myself, keep fit and try to emphasise on speed; it [bowling fast] happens that way," he added.

Rana has taken 63 wickets from 15 matches since making his first-class debut in November 2021. He got to play just two matches in the recently concluded 10th edition of the BPL and scalped one wicket in each match, giving away 34 and 33 runs, respectively.

Alongside Rana, Shoriful Islam, Khaled Ahmed, and Mushfik Hasan make up the Tigers' pace unit for the opening Test.