'Not playing is no excuse'

(L-R) Batsman Shahriar Nafees, spinner Elias Sunny and pace duo Rubel Hossain and Shahadat Hossain jog during Tigers' practice session at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday, two days ahead of their first Test against the West Indies. Photo: Firoz Ahmed

Shahriar Nafees hasn't represented Bangladesh for almost a year. The former national vice-captain spent most of his time playing for the A team in various tournaments this season. His return to the Test side for this series was based mainly on his performance in the last Test series that Bangladesh played against Pakistan.
While Bangladesh did go on to lose that game by seven wickets, Nafees's 97 provided some respectability to the home side's total. However, ever since then, the left-handed batsman's career took a U-turn for the worse. He wasn't selected for the Asia Cup squad, neither was he a member of the World Twenty20 squad. Despite the long gap from international cricket, Nafees was confident of making a good comeback.
“Not playing cricket for over a year is frustrating no doubt. But I don't want that to be an excuse. If I don't play well now, people won't notice that I didn't play for a year. If I do perform they'll praise me and that's what matters. We just have to play well in this series and make use of this series,” said Nafees. The batsman further stated that the fact that he has had to fight his way into the team and there's competition, is in itself a 'positive sign' for Bangladeshi cricket.
He however acknowledged that Bangladesh could have made a lot more progress if the team was more involved in the longer version of the game. “We played well against the West Indies last year and against Pakistan a bunch of us had good individual performances. It obviously would have been great if we played more, but unfortunately, we don't control the FTP (Future Tours Programme).”
The batsman recently hit the headlines when he came under the board's scrutiny for behavioural misconduct while he was on tour with the A team in India in August. What followed was a warning from the board for the left-hander. Nafees however believed that bygones were bygones and merely wanted to focus on the present.
“I have crossed that phase long ago. The issue was resolved and I have played for Bangladesh A after that. What matters is that I am playing for Bangladesh once again and I hope to do well,” said Nafees.
Acknowledging the West Indies team's strength, the batsman stated that there wasn't any scope for targeting 'any one player'. “The entire West Indian team is doing well. We can't individually identify them and underestimate the others. We have to take everyone seriously and keep our focus.”