We Need Better Tracks And Bowling Coach To Perform Up To the Expectation: Manjurul Islam

Shahryar Khan

May 28, 2001

Manjurul Islam must have been very delighted these days after his eventful performance in abroad which set off a new record for Bangladesh, a nation only three test older. I caught him while he was working out in the BCB gym to approach for a brief interview telling him it could be like sort of chatting.

S.K: So, how do feel becoming the owner of the best bowling figure of Bangladesh?

Manjurul: I could not even imagine my bowling would be that much impressive. I worked on this a lot hard during these days. My thought was to the best I could and I succeed. This is, you can say, a fruitful outcome of long arduous labor.

S.K: Your bowling cannot draw the attention at the moment you start-I mean not devastating. Instead I should call you a silent killer who digs up a very steady line and length; seldom gives a bouncer. Sort of a controlled attitude helped you out there in Zimbabwe. Isn't it?

Manjarul: It's not true that I can't give short pitchers. But in the team meeting Trevor and others insisted that I give my natural that is to spot a tight line out side the off stumps. Others' job was to deliver short pitchers to distract the batsman's concentration. So, I just did what I was asked to do.

S.K: After a long familiarity with the slow Bangladeshi pitch which hardly gave you any delight. In those fast pitches in Zimbabwe where the bowler has all kinds of privileges-certainly you enjoyed a lot there.

Manjurul: Certainly. The tracks of our country where ball sometimes rolls on to batsmen and only they can savor it. We, bowlers, particularly pacers can barely make any impression there. You saw our batsmen struggling in Zimbabwe against the bouncers and rising deliveries. This happened because they are not customary to handle such hostility here. A fast and bowling track can benefit both the batsman and the bowler. Our pitches are making us a bit crippled, I think, the batsmen's skills too are becoming imbalanced. We must need good tracks and soon.

S.K: Yes, quality fast bowlers can only thrive in good tracks.

Manjurul: Ian Botham while praising me asked what sort of pitches do we have in our country. I told him that I am bowling for the first time in my life in such a lively track-in our country we can't even imagine it. You see, in the Green Delta League, in some moments I thought of quitting bowling foreverso dull and awful those tracks were. If things continue like this we better give up the hope to get any good fast bowler.

S.K: You picked up the praise of world superstars like Botham, Sohail or even Rackemann. Good to feel these, isn't it?

Manjurul: Players of their kind can always inspire a novice like me. Those words sounded nice. While the series was going on Rackemann told me that he had watched me well. I took the chance asking him to suggest over any flaw if I had in my bowling which laid quite unaware to me. He told me he should not give any suggestion right then because he was the opponent coach. After the series was over, in the last cocktail party he revealed that he had a special plan with his batsmen about a single Bangladeshi bowler to tackle very cautiously and that was-Me. I will never forget such compliment.

S.K: How much are you going to apply those suggestions?

Manjurul: I am trying my best to follow the directions. Actually I am a quick learner and hopefully I am going to hold the level I showed in Zimbabwe. But a thing most notable is that I am not sure whether my applications are running on the correct rout or not. We need a bowling coach to see if everything is going right. As for example, when I bowl I ask Hasibul to detect if any problem I got to mend it. When he suffers such, I suggest. But this is not enough. It can't fill up the gap of an expertise advise. I am not close to getting any guidance of my flaws that are still unnoticed.

S.K: Thank you.

© Cricinfo

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Players/Umpires

Manjural Islam

Series/Tournaments

Bangladesh Domestic Season

Teams

Bangladesh