It鈥檚 been almost two years since Nurul Hasan played his last international match for Bangladesh, almost three years since his last T20I.
The wicketkeeper-batter will have the opportunity to end his long layoff, as he has been recently picked in the Bangladesh squad for the forthcoming Netherlands series and the Asia Cup.
The Netherlands series is scheduled to begin on August 30 in Sylhet, while the Asia Cup is set to be held in the UAE from September 9 to 28.
If the right-handed batter gets the opportunity to feature in the starting eleven, this might be the last chance to prolong his international career.
Nurul is approaching 32 years, which is regarded as a significant barrier for Bangladeshi cricketers, particularly in T20 internationals.
So far, 92 players have represented Bangladesh in T20Is; only 10 of them played after turning 31. Only six of those 31 played at least 10 matches after crossing 31.
Nurul was in the discussion for selection for a while, especially before the Sri Lanka tour last month.
However, records suggest that Nurul isn鈥檛 that much of an improved batter since his last outing for Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup in 2022.
Until that point, he had an average of 21.02 with a strike rate of 126.42. Since then, his average has seen a slight improvement and now stands at 26.50.
However, in terms of strike rate, it remains similar: 126.03 compared to 126.42.
Nurul captained Bangladesh 鈥楢鈥� in the Top End T20 series in Darwin, Australia, a regional T20 tournament.
He managed just 115 runs at an average of 19.16 and with a strike rate of 113.86.
Before that, Nurul didn鈥檛 have great times in the last Global Super League or the BPL either, where he averaged 16.25 and 20.22, respectively.
The last NCL T20, held in December, proved to be a successful outing for the Khulna-born cricketer, as he averaged over 50. However, his strike rate鈥攐ften a topic of discussion among Bangladeshi batters鈥攔emained within his usual range of the 120s.
But for Nurul, only the average should not reflect the impact he has on his team performances, as he bats in the middle or lower middle order, where someone might not get the number of balls in a T20 game.
Until his last appearance for Bangladesh, Nurul played 14 innings of a minimum of 30 runs where the strike rate was at least 150, which is around 9.72 per cent of his total innings. His teams won 50 per cent of those matches.
Since then, the number in this bracket has been slightly better, as he has so far played seven such innings, which is around 13.72 per cent of his total number of innings. This time, his team won six out of seven times, suggesting his impact has been bigger.
But like many other cricketers, international cricket will be a different piece of cake for Nurul despite having an experience of 64 matches.
鈥楿nfortunately we don鈥檛 have performers in like-to-like replacement,鈥� said Gazi Ashraf Hossain, the national team鈥檚 chief selector while explaining their decision to pick Nurul.
鈥楤ut he鈥檚 a good choice in number five or six considering his confidence, approach and pattern of cricket.鈥�
According to Ashraf, Nurul was considered a backup option for Jaker Ali, who has been arguably the best batter for Bangladesh in recent times.
Still, the team management might give Nurul an opportunity or two in the Netherlands series, which is considered as a preparation for the Asia Cup.
Nurul will have to make the most out of those if he wants to show his worth this time around. 聽
