I waited for my opputinity- Afif
Image: BCB
|| CF Correspondent ||
The very first ball that the young Afif Hossain faced in his second match yesterday that too after the gap of a year where he scored a duck on his T20I debut against Sri Lanka, the left hander struck a magnificent boundary over the pace bowler Neville Madziva’s head clearly showed his intensions.
He was not the one to hung around despite Bangladesh were reeling on 60 for 6 inside ten overs coming in to chase the target of 145 runs as Afif launched a counter-attack to the Zimbabwean bowlers.
“I was only thinking of reading the situation and try to bat accordingly,” was the reply from Afif when asked what was he thinking when he walked out to bat in a critical situation.
Whether it’s a conventional stroke or manufacturing shots such as playing a late cut just beside the wicket-keeper or even a scoop shot bending on his knees to a fast bowler—the 19 year old was full of confidence.
It was Afif’s maiden T20I fifty where he was eventually dismissed after a 26 ball 52 run knock just three runs away from the target guided Bangladesh to register a much-needed win for the Tigers followed by a dismal show in the recent times.
He along with Mosaddek Hossain added a match winning 82 run seventh wicket stand helped Bangladesh to start the tri-nation series with a win where a rather mature Afif seemed not so enthusiast despite getting a phone call from the Prime Minister after his brilliant performance.
During this one year since making his T20I debut Afif has been a regular performer in the High Performance where he struck an unbeaten hundred against the Sri Lankan Emerging team in Cox’s Bazar.
“Despite I was dropped form the national team I did not wanted to think about it and waited for my turn as whenever I get the chance, I will try to give my best and make a comeback. I tried to play well in the HP and A team games was part of my preparation,” he said.
According to Afif, skipper Shakib Al Hasan gave him the freedom to play his normal game which helped him to remain confident however he was disappointed for not being able to finish off the game and remain unbeaten at the end.
