Five years ago in 2009 a lanky but good-looking teenager convinced a senior cricketer of his cricket academy to ‘hire’ him for a cricket match, or in other words, to take him for a ‘khep’ as it is popularly known as.
The senior cricketer in question is Rony Gope who had faith over the curious young fast bowler although he did harbour initial doubts regarding the teenager’s ability to handle the pressure of playing with seniors in a competitive match, which itself is no less of a pressure for anyone. On top of these, Gope also had to consider that the young kid will be playing as an outsider or ‘foreign player’ which traditionally means he has to perform well for the team or else a lot will be at stake.
Dear readers, Rony Gope was actually dealing with none other than Taskin Ahmed, the latest fast bowling sensation of the country who was already playing for Bangladesh under-15 cricket team at that time. Typical of a pacer, the paceman had no fear to shy away from challenges which originate from playing with seniors in an alien environment.
It was a tough call to make for Rony, who was hired by a team for a Twenty20 match at Keraniganj, as he was still not convinced and therefore tried to put Taskin off by saying he will only get Tk200. The attempt, however, proved to be a futile one as Taskin had other ideas brewing in his mind when he replied, “This is more than enough for me as I need Tk100 for my transport allowance and the remaining 100 for my food.” This affirmation just goes to show the extent of the determination of Taskin possessed from his formative years, which is so vital for any cricketer to succeed at the highest level.
So Rony agreed to take Taskin alongside him to play in the match at Keraniganj where the youngster encountered another hiccup when the team officials objected to him playing citing his tender age. Thankfully for Taskin, Rony rescued him and was convinced enough himself by that time to persuade the team officials to allow Taskin to play.
It was enough for the 15-year old rookie to prove his mettle as he picked up two consecutive wickets in his very first over of the match and surprised the team officials as well as the large crowd who were present at the ground.
“I remember the match. I picked up two wickets in my first over and I also remember I got 200 hundred Taka for that match. At that time playing a T20 match with the white ball was a huge thing for me and I was never bothered about the money,” said Taskin to Dhaka Tribune before boarding the flight for West Indies yesterday.
“There was a huge crowd who entered the field in the middle of the game and gave me 20 Taka, 50 Taka whenever I got a wicket. It is something I had never witnessed before and it was an amazing experience,” he added.
All in all, the determination and insatiable hunger to play at any level of cricket were the trademarks of the youngster from the very early stage of his career. Those attributes have later come more into fruition as the 19-year old has geared himself up for more exposure in his first ever tour with the national side.
This tale of digging deep into the genesis of Taskin as the new spearhead of the Tigers’ attack would be incomplete if his debut performances in T2O and ODI cricket are not recalled. Taskin showed the glimpses of his raw talent when he produced an impressive figure of 1/24 in his T20 debut against Australia in the World T20 this year. However, the best was yet to come as he followed that up with a memorable ODI debut in the second match of the three match home series against India in June this year when he ripped through the visitors’ batting while bagging 5 wickets for just 28 runs from eight overs.
There is no doubting the fact that this West Indies series is potentially the biggest challenge of his career till date as he again finds himself in an unknown territory which traditionally offers assistance to quicker bowlers. The fans of Bangladesh would be expecting Taskin would once again provide them with reasons to celebrate and bask in glory.