Promising left-arm spinner Rakibul Hasan may not have made the cut for Bangladesh’s ODI squad against Sri Lanka, but chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu has confirmed that the 22-year-old remains firmly on the national team’s radar.
Speaking at the press conference following the squad announcement on Monday, Lipu and fellow selector Abdur Razzak praised Rakibul’s recent performances and outlined their long-term plans for his development.
“Rakibul is a very important player for us,” said Lipu. “He has age on his side and a lot of promise. We’re not ignoring him by any means. In fact, just look at where we’ve placed him over the last year. What we want is for him to come into the national team with strong preparation and a solid foundation.”
Rakibul, a member of Bangladesh’s historic ICC Under-19 World Cup-winning squad in 2020, and the captain of the Tigers in 2022, was the joint-highest wicket-taker in the recently concluded Bashundhara Group Dhaka Premier League. Playing for Abahani Limited, he claimed 30 wickets in 16 matches at an impressive average of 17.06 and an economy rate of just 3.87.
Despite his domestic success, the selectors have opted to retain Rakibul in the High Performance (HP) unit for further development. Lipu explained the decision, highlighting the quality coaching setup currently in place.
“He’s working with Arshad Khan, our spin bowling coach in HP, who’s been outstanding,” said Lipu. “Rakibul himself said his skills have improved significantly under Arshad’s guidance. At his request, we’ve kept him in the HP unit a bit longer to polish those areas even more.”
Selector Abdur Razzak, himself a former national left-arm spinner, echoed Lipu’s thoughts. While acknowledging Rakibul’s consistent domestic form, Razzak emphasized the importance of long-term planning over short-term impact.
“I don’t think it’s right to bring someone straight into the national team just because he was the highest wicket-taker in a single year. Yes, Rakibul has consistently been in the top five or six performers over the last two years — that’s true,” said Razzak. “And we want him to become even better before he joins the national team so that he can have a long, sustained career, not just a short-term spot.”
Razzak also pointed out that Rakibul is being closely monitored as the next option behind Tanvir Islam and Nasum Ahmed, both of whom are currently rotating in the senior side.
“We’ve been rotating Tanvir and Nasum, but at the same time, we really want Rakibul to come into the national team with a strong foundation. That’s why we’re taking a bit more time with him — so he doesn’t fall into the “fast in, fast out” cycle,” Razzak said.
In addition to his bowling, Rakibul has recently shown promise with the bat, playing useful lower-order knocks — including a 42 off 40 and a quickfire 24 off 10 — for the Bangladesh Emerging Team against South Africa earlier this year in Rajshahi.
“He’s improving with the bat as well, and we’re paying attention to that. One of our key concerns is a lack of depth in the batting tail, and Rakibul could help us address that if he continues to develop,” Razzak concluded.
Bd-Pratidin English/ARK
