Can Anamul, Abul make a long lasting impression?

New-look Bangladesh ODI set-up gets ready to make their presence felt by leaving a note worthy impression in the upcoming trio-nation involving Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, scheduled to begin on January 15. Host on January 7 announced 16-member ODI squad for the first two-matches of the tournament that includes several change with left handed   opener Soumya Sarkar and pace bowler Taskin Ahmad being the most notable omissions as the duo tasted their first axing since making their respective debuts.

It also marked several comebacks with opener Anamul Haque and pace bowler Abul Hossain returning to the national dressing room after three long years in oblivion. Pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman, who did not feature in the ODI's in their South Africa tour, Tigers last international assignment after sustaining ankle injury.

Though batsman Mohammad Mithun and left-arm spinner Sanjamul Islam were also recalled but it seems Anamul and Abul hogged all the spot light on them. The duo is expected to fill the absence of Soumya and Taskin since they joined 16-member ODI squad after they began their preparation at Mirpur from January 8 with an aim to clinch their maiden Tri-nation tournament.

The 25-year-old Anamul, who last played an ODI in March 2015, has been recalled following his good form in Bangladesh's domestic cricket in 2017. He scored 1077 first-class runs, including a double century, and 596 runs in List A cricket, along with 206 runs in the Bangladesh Premier League. The right-hand batsman was sidelined from the national team squad after suffering a shoulder injury during Bangladesh's match against Scotland at Nelson in the ICC World Cup 2015 in March.

Though he was given a chance in the Twenty20 format in November 2015 against Zimbabwe at home where he scored 48 runs in two matches, including a 47-run innings, he could not impress former head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe. Anamul was often criticised for his selfish attitude that did not go well with Hathurusinghe who was so incensed by him that he reportedly promised never to pick the batsman again in his time.

The emergence of Soumya Sarkar as sweet timer of the ball and resurgence of Imrul Kayes also appeared as stumbling block for Anamul despite him performing reasonably well in domestic cricket. In the recent concluding National Cricket League, Anamul scored highest 619 runs in eight innings with two double hundreds while in the last Dhaka Premier League he scored 596 runs at an average of 37.25. In both the tournaments, he helped his teams - Khulna Division and Gazi Group Cricketers - respectively to win the championships.

Anamul said that he gained a significant amount of experience in the last couple years while playing domestic cricket and it made him only a better batsman. 'I've tried a lot of things in the last three years. I tried to make something new. I'll try to score big runs and contribute for the team,' Anamul told reporters

'I think the experience has increased. I have played some longer format matches. Maybe I have played 20 first-class matches and played 40 one-day matches. Apart from that it was a great experience to be in the same team which won the DPL and first-class league,' said Anamul.

'My batting skill has improved over the time while I also worked on my wicket-keeping. Now I'm able to score big scores as I scored two double hundreds. So I think I'm a much improved player. Pacer Abul made a comeback in the national side after a gap of nearly three years after his decent show in recent Bangladesh Premier League when his reverse swing and slow bowling in the death overs impressed the selectors.

The 25-year old right-arm seamer claimed that he had worked a lot with his variations in the BPL and was ready to prove it in the field. 'Performing in the BPL was a challenge for me. Waqar [Younis] was in our team. I had belief that I could develop my skill by working with him,' said Abul.

'I've worked on my line and length to a great deal during the off seasons while I worked a lot on my reverse swing and with my slower deliveries,' said Abul. Now it's time to prove myself. It's a big thing that I got the opportunity to prove myself and I'm confident to do that,' he added.

-Atif Azam, AA