Rana first burst onto the scene at the start of 2024 when he debuted in an ICC World Test Championship contest against Sri Lanka in Sylhet and it’s in the longest-format that the pacer has appeared in mostly since despite a brief foray into white-ball cricket at the ICC Champions Trophy event last year.
While the temptation for Rana to hit speeds in excess of 150km/h continues to create much attention, the fast bowler is instead concentrating on finding the right line and length with his bowling and letting the rest take care of itself.
“Honestly, I don’t think too much about speed. In international cricket, skill matters more than pure pace,” Nahid said after his maiden five-wicket haul in ODIs.
“So I am trying to work more on improving my skills.
“In the beginning, Fizz Bhai (Mustafizur Rahman) and Taskin Bhai (Taskin Ahmed) were bowling. I was talking with them on the field about what was happening on the wicket. They told me that if you hit the right areas or maintain a proper line and length in certain spots, it becomes difficult for the batters to play. So I just tried to execute that on the field.
“I have played many matches on this ground before, so I tried to use that experience, understanding which line and length works best here and how to get help from the wicket. For me, every wicket is special. I don’t think about cricket in terms of a wicket being good today and bad tomorrow. I believe that a bowler should understand the wicket first, whatever the condition is, and then bowl according to what the wicket demands.”
