The nine-wicket haul is a career defying moment and the Bangladesh A left-arm spinner Saqlain Sajib is over the moon for his achievements at the SKICS yesterday.
The 9 for 82 against the Zimbabwe A on the first day of the first four-day match is his career-best figures and Saqlain told Dhaka Tribune, “I never thought that I will be able to pick nine out of 10 Zimbabwean wickets today (yesterday).
“I was trying to bowl at the right line and length and got the wickets but honestly I never expected something like this,” he added.
The 25-year old broke the steady 43-run opening partnership of Vusi Sibanda and Tino Mawoyo and went on to rattle the visiting line-up as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 206. It was the Rajshahi lad’s friend and teammate Forhad Hossain, another seasoned campaigner, who took the other Zimbabwean wicket to deny Saqlain of a 10-for. His previous best was 7 for 29 in the National Cricket League.
“I did not play well in recent years and I worked hard to improve my bowling. My coach Jamiur Rahman Saad helped me in the nets in Rajshahi where I used to practice at the Jubo Sangha School ground during the off seasons,” said Saqlain before adding that he is not expecting a national team call-up and just wants to perform consistently wherever he gets the opportunity. The tall left-arm spinner has 229 first class wickets from 52 matches with 14 five-wicket hauls.
