Bangladesh batsman Sabbir Rahman said his recent incidents regarding discipline had impact on him as a person but not as a cricketer.
The right-hander started the new year counting a Tk20 lakh fine imposed by the BCB. He was also stripped of his central contract and suspended for six months from the domestic circuit. Sabbir was found guilty of assaulting a fan and later abusing match officials in the final round of the National Cricket League last month.
“This event has affected me a lot as a person but as a professional cricketer I am taking this as a sole incident and have left it behind in the past. I am trying my best so that the incident doesn’t affect my game. My full concentration is to do best for the national team as I am carrying the national flag. I am thinking more about how I can contribute for the team,” said Sabbir Saturday in his first media appearance since being slammed with the punishments.
Sabbir is now carrying three demerit points on the field. Addition of another point to the tally will see the Bangladesh cricketer get a two-match suspension either in ODI, T20I or a Test match, whichever comes first. As per the ICC regulation, a cricketer with four demerit points within a two-year period will be served with the suspension. Sabbir’s probable two-year suspension duration ends in October this year.
The flamboyant batsman however, is not thinking of any negatives. He also informed that he is not making any change to his character.
“I will be aggressive like I always have been. Honestly I haven’t changed much. I’m also not thinking of the negatives. I’m not thinking about the demerit points at all. It doesn’t matter if it is one point or 10 points. My full focus is on playing these series’ (tri-nation ODI series featuring Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, followed by the Test and T20I series against the Lankans) well,” said the 26-year old.
Sabbir since his debut for Bangladesh in 2014 has played 10 Tests, 46 ODIs and 33 T20Is. The Bangladeshi has not registered a half-century in his last seven ODIs.
The Bangladesh dressing room recently saw changes, after below-par performances, in the shape of batsman Soumya Sarkar and pacer Taskin Ahmed. Sabbir admitted of not being able to perform to the best of his ability.
“I feel I am well prepared (for the series) despite the fact that I have under-performed in my last few matches. I’m working on my weak areas. Now let us see what happens, will try my best to perform,” said Sabbir.
Sabbir in his last seven appearances for Bangladesh in ODIs had got starts but failed to extend his stay in the middle. The Rajshahi lad in his last game against South Africa scored 39.
“I do not think there is any issue with my temperament, rather this is my style of play. It was different when I used to bat at No 3. Now I bat down the order and try to play according to the situation. I am now working on how to cope with a particular situation as a batsman, which includes finishing a game,” Sabbir explained.
