‘I’m not worried about losing my place’

Bangladesh's all-format pacer Shoriful Islam witnessed a few ups and downs this year due to injuries. The 23-year-old pacer hurt his finger during a warm-up match before the ICC T20 World Cup. Although he had recovered and was available for selection from the second match, he ended up warming the benches for the whole tournament. After average stints in LPL and GT20 Canada following the World Cup, Shoriful was brilliant in the opening Test against Pakistan but missed the second one due to a groin injury. The left-arm pacer wasn't picked for the India Tests to heal up completely for the three-match T20I series against the same team. Before leaving for India with the rest of the T20 squad, Shoriful spoke with The Daily Star's Samsul Arefin Khan about his topsy-turvy year. Here are the excerpts:

The Daily Star (DS): Just this year, you have travelled to the USA, Caribbean, Sri Lanka, Canada and Pakistan for cricketing assignments. In some cases, you had to play a match right on the back of a long-haul flight. How did you adjust to it?

Shoriful Islam (SI): Initially, I used to feel tired some times. But now during a long flight, I try to get as much sleep as possible. Many people have the habit of sleeping during flight and I am also trying to acquire it. Of course, jet lag is an issue and it affects you for one or two days after landing. But after that, everything becomes normal.

DS: How do you see the pacers' role in the upcoming India series?

SI: I think our team is equally strong in all departments. We are doing well in pace-oriented pitches. I'm not worried about the wickets. No matter what wicket they will provide, we will try to plan accordingly.

DS: What are your views on workload management for pacers?

SI: We actually talk about this in the online group created for the pacer's workload management. [BCB physiotherapist] Bayjedul [Islam] bhai is in that group and he and others instruct us on how many overs we can bowl per week.

DS: How difficult was it for you to not play any games in the T20 World Cup?

SI: When that injury happened, I felt I wouldn't be able to play in the World Cup. I suffered a cut in the middle of my bowling finger. I recovered quickly within seven to eight days. After the Sri Lanka match, I was available for selection. But our team was doing really well and Tanzim Sakib was bowling brilliantly. I was at risk of getting injured again if I played in place of Sakib. Him playing more matches and doing well was also good for me as I got time to completely recover from the injury. I am not at all disappointed about not playing in the World Cup. It was not in my fate.

DS: How do you see the competition in the pace unit across all formats?

SI: I think it's a healthy competition. When a pacer gets injured, his back-up also does well. It's a good sign for Bangladesh cricket. I'm not worried about losing my place. Whoever does well, I want him to play. I actually feel really good when I see my colleagues perform well as we all play for the country. I take it positively. I think everyone in the team feels that even if they are not playing in the match, they are still part of the team. I think it's helping the team.

DS: You have worked under three foreign pace bowling coaches – Ottis Gibson, Allan Donald and Andre Adams—in the Bangladesh team. Can you compare their techniques?

SI: I think the coaching theory is the same. But motivation wise, they are different. I'm very happy to have them all as coaches. Hopefully their work is reflecting in our performances as well.

DS: How about your childhood coach Alamgir Kabir?

SI: Whether I'm bowling well or not, I always talk to Alamgir sir. He has brought me to this position from nowhere, I am completely indebted to him. It still feels like a dream when I think about where I started from and where I'm now.