Saif Hasan, who has been called up to the Bangladesh national cricket team for the forthcoming Netherlands series and the Asia Cup, has had an interesting career in T20Is so far.
He scored 52 runs from five innings at an average of 13 and with a strike rate of 81.25. Fifty of those runs came in one inning, as his other four innings are 1, 0, 1, and 0.
He made his T20I debut against Pakistan in the home series soon after the 2021 T20 World Cup, when the selectors dropped the likes of Liton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim.
Saif played the first two matches and never got to play for the senior team again. His other three matches were at the Asian Games in 2023. Though those games got international status, the team was basically the ‘A’ team.
The all-rounder, who played two Under-19 World Cups in 2016 and 2018, was always considered more of a longer-version batter, as his batting style was suited to that.
He recently played two 40-plus innings at number three for Bangladesh ‘A’ in the recently concluded Top End T20 series in Australia against Pakistan Shaheens and the Melbourne Stars Academy, respectively. Although both innings came in losing causes.
He got a great start in the last BPL, where he scored 40, 4, 62*, and 80 in his first four innings for Rangpur Riders.
But the right-hander couldn’t follow suit, as he managed only 120 runs in his last nine innings.
Before that, he had a moderate NCL T20 where he managed just 47 runs from seven innings.
So, when he was picked up for the T20I team again, it was somewhat of a surprising call given his records.
The chairman of the national selection panel, Gazi Ashraf Hossain, said that he got the nod for his versatility.
‘We had to go into deep-dive thinking for this selection. His inclusion [in the team] brought others into the discussion too. We, the coaches, the captain, and the selectors, discussed a lot,’ said Ashraf.
‘Considering if we need a player to bat at number three or four, or even in number one or two, we have got an eye on him, and this time we have included him.’
Ashraf also mentioned that Saif’s bowling capability also caught their eyes. He bowled frequently in the Top End series.
‘We needed a bowler who can bowl at the top. He can fulfil that purpose. We have searched for a player like him who can be addressed in multiple places. The team needs them very much,’ said Ashraf.
It was learnt that Saif was picked as a backup batter for multiple positions. Bangladesh has had some problems in terms of having backups in the middle order recently.
But Saif will be under the knife’s edge, as the recent selections suggest.
He basically came in the place of Mohammad Naim, who made a comeback after a long layoff against Sri Lanka. But the left-handed batter was dropped just after two series and three matches.
Naim had to bat at number four in an innings against Sri Lanka, followed by two innings up in the order against Pakistan. One of them was on a tough pitch at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.
It remains to be seen whether Saif could capitalise on the opportunity if he gets any.
