Khaled Ahmed is one for the future: Rhodes
Pic: BCB
|| CF Correspondent ||
Bangladesh head coach Steve Rhodes said that he is impressed with pace bowler Khaled Ahmed after watching him closely in the two intra-squad match of the High Performance (HP) Unit.
Since replacing Hathurusingha, Rhodes emphasized on finding taller pace-bowlers to represent the Tigers as he feels that pacers height plays a big part in their performance.
However, considering the natural growth of the people of this country, this is not a requirement that can be filled immediately as there is hardly any chance of getting someone of the same height as Stuart Broad or some other tall foreign pacer in this region.
However, Rhodes looked determined to find someone who can match his requirement and as part of his long-term plan he is keeping an eye on every development process and that includes watching the games of the HP Unit.
Khaled, the lanky pace bowler looked to have caught the head coach's attention and it reflected when he was having one on one session with him in the dressing-room after the T20 match was over.
“I think he [Khaled] was pretty impressive,” Rhodes told Cricfrenzy after the match at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Sunday.
“He bowled with lot of life and it is certainly something that we can work on in future,” said the head coach, who supervised the bowler after he was selected in the 31-member preliminary squad for the Asia Cup.
The performance of Khaled with Bangladesh A team in the Ireland series certainly put him in good stead to look far beyond and not just being circled in the domestic arena.
Khaled said that Rhodes instructed him to work on his variations and emphasized that he put a lot of hard work in the four-day matches.
“Basically he was telling me to master more variations,” said Khaled.
Although I bowled few deliveries that struck on the batsmen hip, what he suggested was that I try to bowl bit slower with the same length as that would be effective in the long run.
“He also asked me to try and bowl longer spells in the four-day match that we are expected to play in the coming days,” he said.
Banglaesh selector Habibul Bashar, who saw the pacer firing on all cylinders during his maiden five-wicket haul in the National Cricket League at Khulna, looked hopeful for the new kid on the block.
“Khaled can be really effective in wicket that have some grass on it,” said Bashar. “Naturally his height gives him an edge over others but it is too early to say anything as he still have a long way to go.”
