Sabbir's chance at hand

Sabbir Rahman (C) has certainly enjoyed a satisfying birthday, his 24th, at the Hotel Peninsula in Chittagong yesterday, a day after his quick-fire 44 against Zimbabwe on his Tigers debut at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. Photo: Star

There was a brief moment of silence at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong on Friday after Bangladesh's two set batsmen, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim, departed soon after reaching their respective landmarks.
With still over five overs left in the innings and just the tail remaining, the Tigers needed a good finish. In the past this would have been an ideal situation for Nasir Hossain to come in and stroke the Tigers to a confident total, but he was dropped from the series due to poor form this year, and the crucial number seven position was given to a debutant, Sabbir Rahman.
Sabbir took his time at the crease and failed to clear the boundary with his first few hits. However, if there were any doubts regarding Sabbir's nerves, they disappeared after he ran down the track and cleared Tendai Chatara for a six.
That wasn't all as Sabbir had saved the best for the last, launching Tinashe Panyangara for two sixes in the last two balls of the innings and displaying the sheer power that he possessed.
With four more ODIs to go against Zimbabwe, Sabbir now has a chance of making Bangladesh's World Cup squad ahead of Nasir. Does that put any extra pressure on him? Not quite.
"There is no such pressure. Nasir played before me in the same position and he was going through a bad patch so I got my chance. If I go through a bad patch then he will get an opportunity again. That's what cricket is. I am going to try and play as well as I can to retain my spot," said Sabbir, prior to celebrating his 24th birthday with his teammates.
"Honestly I am not thinking about the World Cup right now. My target is to play this series as well as possible. If I think about that then I will be under pressure to perform," he explained.
Entering the crease with a handful of overs left is not the best situation for a batsman to make his international debut, but Sabbir relishes these situations.
"I enjoy these situations. It gives me an opportunity to play freely. The field is generally spread and I can take the singles and get set for the big hits.
"My role in the team is to stay till the end and provide support," said Sabbir.
Arguably Bangladesh's most athletic player, Sabbir was earmarked before making his international debut in a T20I against Sri Lanka earlier this year. He then went on to play the World T20I.
While his career appears to be on track now, it was in jeopardy a few months ago, according to Sabbir.
"I actually waited for a long time. The last two years I was on the back-foot. So I am happy now and hope to carry on the same way," said Sabbir.