Taskin says he enjoys the opportunity to bowl on flat pitches

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Taskin Ahmed picked up three wickets in an over against Ireland

In a maiden T20I against Ireland that was cut short by weather, Bangladesh’s ability to bowl under pressure was tested, and Taskin Ahmed helped them pass with flying colours. In less than three overs, the visitors moved to 32 for 0. The goal, 104 from eight, was easily reachable. 

Then all of a sudden, it wasn’t because Taskin Ahmed, who had entered the game in the fourth over, had taken three wickets in as many deliveries and essentially put an end to the match. 

He caught George Dockrell at third man after first getting rid of Lorcan Tucker with a yorker, as well as dangerous Paul Stirling. In the final over, he also eliminated Harry Tector, giving him career-best stats of 2-0-16-4.

“They needed 104 runs from eight overs in favourable conditions and the ball was coming on to the bat,” Taskin said at the post-match press conference after Bangladesh took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. 

“It was slightly wet out there too. But we didn’t relax till the last over. We stuck to the process. We focused on the execution, whatever the situation demanded.” 

“It is our responsibility to adjust to the wicket. We are assessing the conditions and adjusting ourselves to the behaviour of the wicket. It is part of the learning process. If we can execute properly, we can bowl better.”

Taskin added that it will benefit the fast bowlers more for Bangladesh to play in batting-friendly conditions. 

“Major events are played on sporting pitches so we should play all levels on these conditions. It favours both batters and bowlers. It will challenge the bowlers in batting-friendly conditions but there will be improvement too. More we play on good wickets, we will be. We won the last two series playing on better wickets, so this is a good motivation.”

“Accuracy has to be 100% on good wickets otherwise there’s a chance of leaking boundaries. So on better wickets, the bowler will be more focused on perfect execution. It will definitely lead to improvement.”

Taskin confirmed Bangladesh’s desire to field one of the world’s top fast bowling units.

“If we can all become world-class bowlers, it will be tough for the opponents to handle us,” he said. “Big teams have four or five world-class fast bowlers. We want the same thing. We are treating it like a family, the bowling unit, and helping each other in the last two and a half years.

“We are improving but we are still to reach the next level but I believe we are on the right track. We have a great mindset so we can reach the goal of becoming a world-class attack.”

Taskin claimed that Bangladesh is becoming a more aggressive squad as a result of the team’s teammates’ and management’s all-around support.  

“Fear of failure holds you back. We want to play free cricket. Everyone is supporting each other, starting from the very top of the team management. They tell us not to hesitate when executing our skills. They want us to play our game freely, bring our A-game. Play aggressive cricket.”

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