Hider, a find of BPL

His celebration has already become a trademark in the Bangladesh Premier League, his 21 wickets this season have made him the highest ever wicket-taker in a single season of the BPL, and he has already been dubbed as a great prospect for Bangladesh's future; 19-year-old left-arm pacer Abu Hider is having a dream run at the moment.

He might have only recently entered the scene, but the way he gritted out the tense scenario yesterday and throughout the BPL so far depicts a boy mature beyond his years.

His four-wicket haul yesterday included a full-length delivery that actually tripped Lendl Simmons and hit timber; a dream sight for any young pacer.

Following the match yesterday, both skippers had encouraging words for the left-armer.

"The BPL has a bit more pressure than our other domestic tournaments because there are foreign players here. The way he [Hider] bowled today, he has shown a lot of maturity. I asked him to bowl at pressure situations," said Mashrafe Bin Mortaza.

Young left-arm pace bowler Abu Hider is the find of this year's Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). The southpaw took four wickets as Comilla Victorians thrashed Rangpur Riders by 72 runs and romped into the final at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday. Hider is now the leading wicket-taker of the tournament with 21. Photo: Firoz Ahmed

"I have seen him from very close. He is very promising. I believe he has a good future for Bangladesh, but then again there is a huge difference between club and international cricket."

While Shakib Al Hasan was a bit more circumspect, he too was glad to witness the rising pace bowler.

"I don't comment on players until and unless I have observed them for at least one to one-and-a-half years. But obviously the way he has proved himself in this tournament, he is someone we can look towards for the future.

"His performance will definitely inspire a number of other hopefuls," said Shakib.

Mashrafe also reckoned that Abu's rise could create a more comfortable scenario for the national pacers.

"I always believe that pace bowling is something that can win matches. You need to groom these pacers if you want to win Test Cricket," said Mashrafe

"And they can only learn if they keep playing in such high-pressure situations. If we can continue this, we will have a good number of back-up pacers," he added.

The skipper also spoke well of Ashar Zaidi, who smacked 40 off 15 and took a four-wicket haul yesterday.

"The way Zaidi has been performing for us is unbelievable. We never expected him to perform that way. When he was batting, we had given him a message that we wanted to score 140-145. But the way he finished it for us was unbelievable," concluded Mashrafe.