‘You can't just let him sit out matches’ - Habibul Bashar defends Nahid Rana's workload

Bangladesh chief selector Habibul Bashar admitted that Nahid Rana's side strain came as a setback despite the team's careful workload management. The young fast bowler has been ruled out of the two-Test series against Australia, ending his hopes of featuring in Bangladesh's first Test tour of Australia in 23 years.

The 23-year-old has enjoyed a remarkable year, claiming 44 wickets, including four five-wicket hauls, across formats. Known for his express pace and ability to generate steep bounce, Rana was expected to play a key role in Australian conditions.

He had already impressed against Australia during the ODI series in Dhaka, troubling several of their batters with his pace and aggression. Rana also registered the best bowling figures by a Bangladesh fast bowler against Zimbabwe earlier this year. However, the side strain has brought his much-anticipated Australia tour to a premature end, dealing a significant blow to Bangladesh's pace attack.

"Nahid Rana was well within our workload management policy. The GPS tracker tells us everything these days, so we decide which match, how many matches, and which series each fast bowler will play. Nahid Rana didn't play all the matches when Australia toured here in June. He was available for the two Tests in Australia according to the workload management,” said Bashar as quoted by Cricinfo.

"We didn't pick him for the Test against Zimbabwe by being extra cautious. He got hurt in the second T20I after having played the first two ODIs, so it was unfortunate. We could have avoided playing him, but the ODIs were part of our push towards the World Cup. We also have to keep in mind that he had to bowl enough overs. You can't just let him sit out matches. He has to bowl a certain number of deliveries to be match ready. We had to consider that part too. His injury is unfortunate; it could have happened in Australia. It is hard to keep fast bowlers free of injuries,” he added.

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Bashar also addressed questions over whether there had been pressure to include Rana in the white-ball series against Zimbabwe after Bangladesh's disappointing performance in the preceding Test match.

"We kept our regular batters in the squad for the Zimbabwe Test. We had our main bowlers available but we were extra cautious about them, so we rested all of them. We lost the Test due to our batting. We batted very poorly. We still had bowlers like Ebadot [Hossain], Khaled [Ahmed] and Hasan Mahmud, who are all Test specialists,” said Bashar.

"It was not about our bowling, it was about our batting. I don't think we batted well in the Test, ODIs or T20Is on that tour. We certainly didn't face any external pressures, but it is hard to swallow a defeat against Zimbabwe. We have to be accountable, so you hear a few things. It was hard to accept that defeat,” he added.