It has been a different Christmas for Prime Doleshwar’s English cricketer Dawid Malan. Due to his commitment in the Super League phase of the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League (DPL), Malan had to spend the special day at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel reading books by the poolside for the major part of yesterday.
The 27-year old cricketer is playing in his second successive season for Doleshwar and is one of very few cricketers taking part in the DPL who spent Christmas away from home
And Malan admitted yesterday that this is a totally new experience for him.
“This is a totally different experience than I am used to. I previously met my parents on Christmas day in South Africa before but yes, this is the first time I am away from home on Christmas,” Malan told Dhaka Tribune yesterday from the confines of the hotel.
“It’s obviously tough being away from home and friends. That’s obviously tough but that’s part of life. Meeting new people and making friends - that’s part of learning in order to grow in life,” he said.
The left-handed batsman, who also bowls handy leg-spinners, picked up nine wickets and scored 340 runs in 10 matches so far this season and has no doubt been one of the key performers for Doleshwar.
Malan though refused to delve into his personal achievements. Rather, the English cricketer praised the teamwork of Doleshwar, who won their last match convincingly by nine wickets against Kalabagan Cricket Academy last Wednesday. He also reserved special mention for skipper Mushfiqur Rahim and national cricketer Mominul Haque.
“I think we have a good team with a great bunch of guys. But, we lost a couple of matches earlier which we should have won. But, you know we can’t blame ourselves. If we can win all the matches in the Super League then things might go in favour of us for the title race,” he said.
Malan, who also plies his trade for Middlesex in the English county circuit, informed that the pitches here need to be more pace-bowling friendly.
“I think the wickets in the first ten or eleven matches in the league were not that good as it’s sort of low and slow which I don’t think they would be facing in Australia where the pitches will be quick and bouncy,” he said, referring to the seam-friendly wickets in Australia-New Zealand, the co-hosts of next year’s ICC World Cup.
“But, there are seamers in Prime Bank and the other clubs, like Rubel [Hossain]. If he and the others are allowed to play then I think they (Bangladesh) can compete in those conditions,” he added.
Malan also said the Tigers will need to work hard in the batting department if they are to fare well in the upcoming World cup. He is of the opinion that senior cricketers like Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiq and Shakib al Hasan will have to play a vital role for their side.
The middle-order batsman also gave his observation when asked to compare the domestic scene in Bangladesh to that of the English county circuit.
“I think the environment here, where the players are under a lot more pressure, is almost like if you don’t perform you will be dropped which is not obviously ideal when you look to create players. And in terms of pitches spinners play a massive role here which is the nature of the sub-continent. Every team have more than two good spinners,” he said.
