The importance of being Sabbir Rahman

The importance of being Sabbir Rahman

Profile

Sabbir Rahman is a Bangladeshi right-handed batsman and a leg-spinner, who was also a part of the 2010 Under-19 squad for the World Cup in New Zealand. Prior to that he had made his First-Class debut for Rajshahi Division in 2008-09. He has also played for the Bangladesh Under-23s, Barisal Burners, Barisal Division, Bangladesh Cricket Board Academy and Bangladesh 'A' squads. He has over 1,500 First-Class runs with an average of 31.83. 

Rahman made his T20I debut for Bangladesh against Sri Lanka and scored 26 on debut. He was also a part of the Bangladesh side for the 2014 World T20. Rahman made his debut in ODIs against Zimbabwe in the Nov-Dec 2014 series. In his first game, he scored a sparkling 44 off just 25 balls as Bangladesh posted a solid 281 on the board. 

His promising start in the ODI format prompted the selectors to name him in the 2015 World Cup squad.

By Cricbuzz staff 

As of January 2015 

"There are things that I have picked up from Sabbir, who is an amazing hitter of the ball. But I cannot just start hitting sixes from the first or second ball like him," said Nafees. "He is super-fit.

I think I have more understanding of the format, and it is crucial to bat according to the situation."

I have't had to make too many changes to my technique," Mominul, who had a strike rate of 118.13 in nine innings as Rajshahi's opener, said. "It is all in the mentality, the belief. I think it has a lot to do with changing the mood of my batting. I have been playing Tests for the last two years, so it was always tougThe importance of being Sabbir Rahmanh to readjust to T20s.

I will take this confidence into international cricket.

Naees made some fundamental changes, which included his bat weight. He has batted in the BPL with one that weighed 2.10 pounds, while he previous played with a 2.7-pound bat. He also worked on his bat-swing during the off season so as to be able to hit sixes with more ease. Nafees has had success in the BPL before - he struck his maiden century in the 2013 tournament - but the freedom with which he has batted this time was plain to see. The ten sixes he has hit in this year's tournament have more than doubled his overall T20 sixes tally.

The change of approach involved putting effort into becoming leaner, and spending more hours in the gym than before. "At the start of my career, all the focus was on Tests and ODIs but now T20 gives you a lot of exposure," Nafees said. "I think the difference this year has been my fitness. I feel a lot lighter on my feet, so my agility has improved and I feel more strength overall. This power game is now the standard in international cricket.

Sabbir has only just started out in international cricket and hasn't yet had the inevitable first bad season. Chinks in his make-up will probably be exposed soon enough by the teams he comes up against, but he knows that if he remains confident in being able to carry out his method day in day out, he will be a consistent international batsman.

He also won't want a pile-up of off-field controversies early in his career, and will do well to understand the responsibilities that come with being an international cricketer and, consequently, role model. If he lets incidents like the recent disciplinary breach dent his impact as a batsman, Sabbir stands in danger of losing the most beautiful thing about his game - the mental clarity with which he bats.

#source Cricbuzz