Bangladesh cricketers have been enjoying a rare extended time off after the Odommo Bangladesh T20 Cup, which ended on February 9. While the pangs of missing out on the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka is still raw, most of the players are using this break to spend time with family. One of them, the 24-year-old speedster Shoriful Islam, talked to The Daily Star’s Abdullah Al Mehdi about the ongoing World Cup and how he is spending time away from cricket during an exclusive interview. The excerpts are as follows.
Daily Star (DS): Have you been watching the ICC T20 World Cup?
Shoriful Islam (SI): Truth be told, I haven’t really been watching the ongoing World Cup. I have seen about one or two matches. Since we have not gone to the World Cup, I have not been watching the matches all that much. We have gotten an extended break after a while following the Odommo T20 Cup. So, that’s why I have been focusing on spending time with family in my village.
DS: The Odommo T20 Cup was arranged to somewhat make up for the lack of cricket due to not playing in the World Cup. How was the tournament itself?
SI: As cricketers, we put in the same effort during the games. But the vibe of a World Cup and some bilateral series or a tournament is completely different. A World Cup is a World Cup, every player prepares for the whole year to play the World Cup. So, it would be a mistake to compare it to some other tournament.
DS: You were one of the 15 cricketers who got picked in Bangladesh’s World Cup squad. After Bangladesh were removed from the tournament, what did you feel?
SI: We can’t regret about something that is not in our fate. What’s done is done. Whatever comes next, I will focus on that and try to achieve something good.
DS: Not getting to play a World Cup was understandably a blow for all cricketers. But has any positive come out of it?
SI: The best outcome for me was that I have been able to be spend time with my family. I have returned home, been playing a lot with my boy and am around my parents.
The break feels great since we were playing continuously. At times things become dull or the body gets fatigued. Since there are no games, I have a lot of time for the family. As you know, we don’t get a lot of family time, so in that regard, it has been refreshing.
DS: The BCL one-dayers tournament is coming up. What are your plans for that?
SI: We have been playing only T20s for a while now. We will be playing one-dayers now, so, definitely, we need to prepare for that. Everyone has been preparing individually, including me. We are also going to play an ODI series against Pakistan after that which is likely to happen around Eid-ul-Fitr [from March 12-16].
