Shaken but far from shattered
Every other day in the country, a horrific road accident ruins a family or any individual's dream, and such an unfortunate incident in 2015 left Bangladesh cricketer Nihaduzzaman to the point of no return. Although the then 16-year-old was lucky enough to survive, his career was on the brink of being nipped in the bud.
"The first accident happened in 2015. I felt the urge to return to the field once the doctor pulled the stitches off my head," Nihaduzzaman told The Daily Star.
Nihaduzzaman was a member of Bangladesh's ICC U-19 World Cup team in 2014. While the lanky left-arm spinner is still having to prove himself on the domestic circuit, 10 out of 14 players from that squad have already made their international debut for Bangladesh, and the likes of Liton Das, Mustafizur Rahman, and Mehedi Hasan Miraz are an integral part of the Tigers' setup at present.
"Before the accident, I was called up for the High Performance (HP) camp and was optimistic about the future."
Nihaduzzaman's recovery was always going to be a long, agonising one but shortly after returning to the pitch in 2017, he broke his hand, and this time he had feared the worst.
"It proved difficult for me to lift a two-kilo object even three months after the [second] accident. I could not even rotate my wrist, let alone bowl. I felt as if I would never be able to bowl again. The fracture eventually healed but my hand lacked power," he revisited.
Nihaduzzaman's sheer will, however, enabled him to ride past the pessimism surrounding the possibility of ever returning to his former self as playing opportunities got scarcer. This time in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), the cricketer from Rajshahi garnered serious attention.
"I was able to return to the field bit by bit and resumed bowling. But the condition of my hand forced me to change my [bowling] action. It was a struggle that I will not be able to express in words now," the 24-year-old recollected.
Nihaduzzaman with his revamped action had scalped 12 wickets in nine BPL matches this season, boasting an impressive economy of 7.22 for Chattogram Challengers.
"Sohel [Islam, local spin bowling coach] Sir got my back, and I trusted him and followed his instructions. Changing my bowling action and getting comfortable with it was not easy at all. I was torn between a new bowling action and the older one. If you look at my bowling fingers, you will find how distorted they are because of the toil they took while adjusting to the new action," said Nihaduzzaman, who is an avid fan of Shakib Al Hasan.
"Although I'm primarily a left-arm spinner, I enjoy batting a lot. So, I aspire to be known as a bowling all-rounder in the coming days. My idol is [Former New Zealand captain] Daniel Vettori. I also take notes from Shakib Bhai's bowling. I find his mentality charming as he is much more forward-thinking compared to the rest of us."
Nihaduzzaman mentioned that he is working on his batting skills of late. He aspires to be an all-format world-class cricketer and serve the national team as a utility player if given the opportunity.
"I believe I had a reasonably successful BPL campaign this time with Chattogram, but the goal was to learn as much as possible for the future. The BPL provides a platform for local players to grab attention, and I wanted to make the most of it," he concluded.