Bangladesh left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed is keeping it simple after a fine comeback in the recent ODI series against Afghanistan, notably in the second game where he put in the all-rounder performance of a game changer for Bangladesh's only win of the series.
Nasum had been in the eye of a storm since the ODI World Cup in 2023. Reports suggested that he had been physically assaulted by former national head coach Chandika Hathurusingha and the incident eventually led to the Sri Lankan's sacking last month.
While the left arm spinner is understandably relieved and overwhelmed at being back in the national team, he doesn't want to think too far ahead. He also made it clear that he had moved on from that controversial incident.
"To tell you frankly, I don't want to say anything regarding those things (physical assault issue of Hathurusingha) and I didn't speak to anyone for the last one year," Nasum said in an interview with Cricbuzz.
“I gave everything to the hand of Allah and he gave it back as I returned to where I was (in the national team) after one year. Now I have to hold on to it and I will try my level best,” he said.
“Past is past and as you know, the whole country knows (what happened) and I have not spoken a single word about it till now and I don't want to talk about it either,” he added.
“Look, if I think about all those things that happened (following the World Cup), it can be a big issue. It is alright that I faced lot of trouble,” said Nasum.
“But after that (when things started to become normal) I played in the Premier League and didn't pick any wickets in the first four games. Then I picked 24 wickets in the next 12 games including a five-for, so I got into my groove after a while and performed in other domestic tournaments as well,” he said.
While he had issues with Hathurusingha, things were much better for him during the tenures of Russell Domingo and Sridharan Sriram. Nasum credited the duo for helping him adjust to the extreme demands of international cricket.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
