I can become a batsman like Virat Kohli: Sabbir Rahman

Young Bangladeshi batsman Sabbir Rahman was under the firing range for having underperformed in the longest format of the game for quite some time. His dual failure in the first Test against Australia in the ongoing Test series certainly put a lot of pressure on him. He desperately needed to quash all the claims encircling around the points that he is not suited for the red ball cricket.

Sabbir did just that when he stepped in to bat in the first innings of the second Test against Australia at Chittagong. He came in to bat at a time when the hosts were reeling at 115/5. Aussie spinners, Nathan Lyon in particular, was getting some vicious turn from the wicket. Amidst this situation, Sabbir Rahman played out a sensible knock of 66 runs. Reflecting back at the day’s play, Sabbir noted that he knew staying at the crease was important and keeping things simple was the priority.

“You need to follow the basics if you want to score runs so it was intentional to play as straight as possible. I am not very good at judging wicket and in a sense I am fine with that because you are not troubled by the thought of how will it behave. I knew that staying at the wicket was important and just made sure the bowlers don’t dominate me by being over defensive,” quoted Sabbir Rahman as per the quotes in Cricbuzz.

On his dismissal

Sabbir Rahman was looking good for his maiden Test ton. He did all the hard work to get set but ended up getting stumped on 66. Talking about his dismissal, he admitted that he lost his balance and hence was beaten. He added that he was happy to make a contribution to the team. Also, he remarked that he can become a batsman like Virat Kohli but his aim to continue scoring runs and not think about comparisons.

“I couldn’t keep my balance. We would have been in a better position had I remained unbeaten. Honestly I couldn’t adjust to the wicket too well. I tried to play my game. I am happy to make a contribution for the team. I had the right mindset when I went out to bat. I don’t have much experience but I train a lot. It is important to play in your own way in these wickets. I might have got out earlier if I tried to survive in this wicket,” said Rahman.

“Everything is possible, if one tries they can become like Kohli. I can’t be compared to him; it is more important to score runs for the team,” he added.

Lyon draws comparison with Virat Kohli

Meanwhile, Nathan Lyon, from the opposition dressing room, also had a few words of praise for Sabbir Rahman. Lyon also conceded that Rahman reminds him of Virat Kohli. He lauded the young batsman for showing great temperament. He quoted that Rahman did get lucky on a few occasions but that does not take anything away from the fact that he played some really good cricket on the day.

“He’s a good player. He reminds me of Virat Kohli. He’s probably a pretty good role model to have in the subcontinent. But that’s only on his person out there and the way he walks around the crease and the shots he’s played here. We find he doesn’t really want to defend, he wants to taker the game on and that’s brave cricket,” said Lyon.

“So he batted pretty well today. He played some nice shots. He was lucky here and there but you need a bit of luck in cricket. I had a bit of luck today with the stumping, it probably wasn’t the best ball I’ve ever bowled in Test cricket but at the end of the day that’s luck, and you’ve got to go out there and enjoy the game of cricket. He’s a good cricketer, we’re definitely paying him a lot of respect that’s for sure,” Lyon added further.